Ukraine reduced rolled steel production by 15.4% y/y in January

In January 2026, Ukrainian steel enterprises reduced the production of commercial rolled steel by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2025, to 406 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from Ukrmetallurgprom.

During this period, pig iron smelting decreased by 7.6% year-on-year to 550,000 tons, and steel smelting decreased by 16.3% year-on-year to 511,000 tons.

Compared to the previous month, rolled steel production decreased by 26.7%, pig iron by 20.9%, and steel by 14.4%.

It should be noted that at the end of 2025, Ukraine’s steel industry increased its production of commercial rolled steel by 4.8% year-on-year, to 6.52 million tons. Last year, pig iron smelting increased by 11.2% y/y to 7.88 million tons, while steel smelting decreased by 2.2% y/y to 7.41 million tons. The industry’s performance continued to grow in 2025, reaching its highest levels since the start of the full-scale invasion, with the exception of steel production.

According to GMK Center estimates, steel production in Ukraine is likely to remain at a neutral level this year – approximately 7.2 million tonnes in the baseline scenario, which effectively means reaching the current production ceiling in wartime conditions. Further growth will be hampered by weak global economic conditions, aggressive exports from China, high energy and logistics costs, and tighter trade restrictions in key markets.