Global steel production fell by 0.3% y/y in May

Global steel production in May 2026 fell by 0.3% year-on-year to 157.9 million tonnes. This is according to the World Steel Association’s global ranking of steel-producing countries (70).

Total steel production in the CIS countries plus Ukraine fell by 4.8% year-on-year during the month but rose by 11.6% month-on-month to 6.7 million tonnes. Ukraine produced 629.4 thousand tonnes in May, which is 21.7% more than in the previous month, but 1% less year-on-year.

According to World Steel, the top ten steel-producing countries in May were:

• China – 84.4 million tonnes (-2.7% year-on-year);
• India – 14.1 million tonnes (+1.9%);
• USA – 7.5 million tonnes (+9.2%);
• Japan – 7 million tonnes (+1.7%);
• Russia – 5.6 million tonnes (-5.4%);
• South Korea – 5.4 million tonnes (+3.3%);
• Turkey – 3.4 million tonnes (+8.9%);
• Germany – 3.2 million tonnes (+7.3%);
• Brazil – 2.8 million tonnes (+2.4%);
• Vietnam – 2.6 million tonnes (+27.2%).

Global steel production for January–May totalled 773.1 million tonnes (-1.5% year-on-year). In the CIS countries and Ukraine, 31.6 million tonnes of steel were produced during this period, which is 9.6% less than in the same period last year.

As reported by GMK Center, global steel production fell by 2% year-on-year in 2025 – to 1.8 billion tonnes. Total steel production in the CIS countries and Ukraine fell by 4.4% year-on-year last year to 81.3 million tonnes. China reduced output by 4.4% year-on-year (960.8 million tonnes), India increased it by 10.4% year-on-year (164.9 million tonnes), and the US by 3.1% year-on-year (82 million tonnes).