About worldsteel statistics

worldsteel publishes monthly production statistics for crude steel, direct reduced iron (DRI) and blast furnace iron (BFI). This page explains how these statistics are collected and reported.

Introduction to worldsteel statistics

Crude steel, DRI and BFI production statistics for 63 countries are published in the ‘Steel in Figures’ section of worldsteel.org on (or soon after) the 20th of every month.

worldsteel has several sources for the data, including worldsteel member companies, national statistics offices and regional steel industry associations. The economics team at worldsteel collects and compiles the data.

Updates and revisions

The current year's production statistics tables on worldsteel.org are updated every month. In any given month, several countries’ data will be estimated because of the cut-off date for publication. Not all the reporting institutions can consistently provide the latest monthly figures before the 20th. Estimates are marked (e) in the statistics tables.

The reporting institutions frequently update their statistics. It is common for countries and companies to adjust production figures throughout the year. worldsteel does not provide a daily update of the latest figures. The tables shown on worldsteel.org are a ‘snapshot’ of the production statistics as they have been reported by the 20th of each month, plus any revisions.

The tables do not show a running total. However, in January, an 'annual total' figure is published. This total is not the sum of the monthly statistics from January to December because the annual figure is calculated by the reporting institution, including any numbers that may have been changed at source, but not published on worldsteel.org.

Not all steel-producing countries are represented in the monthly table. There are 62 countries that report their production statistics on a monthly basis and approximately 30 that report only annual figures. Yet other countries issue quarterly statistics, from which monthly figures are estimated.

  • I would like to analyse the data. Can you provide data in Excel format?

    Production data for the current year, shown in the 'Statistics' section, is availabe to download in Excel and PDF format. You can also subscribe to receive more detailed worldsteel monthly statistics spreadsheets by e-mail. Details and sample files are in the online Bookshop.

  • What figure should I use for annual crude steel production?

    In January, worldsteel announces the annual production figure for the previous year in a press release. Although the data may be adjusted after this announcement is issued, the published figure should be used for any calculations and communications.

  • Why are figures estimated?

    worldsteel collects and reports figures provided by direct sources. Occasionally, the reported figures are not yet final figures, or there is a delay in reporting. As worldsteel publishes monthly data on the 20th of each month, any unverified figures are marked as 'estimates'. Estimated figures are updated in the following month. If no updated figure is provided, the estimated figure remains. If there are many estimates, or if a major steel-producing company delays the release of its figures, worldsteel may wait a day or two before issuing the monthly statistics.

  • Why are some countries missing from the table?

    Data from 59 countries are shown in the monthly statistics tables. Some countries do not report monthly figures. The annual figures include all reporting countries, including those that do not provide monthly data.

  • Why is the annual crude steel production figure different on worldsteel.org and the Steel Statistical Yearbook?

    The Steel Statistical Yearbook shows the annual crude steel production data for the last 10 years. The figures in the yearbook are updated to include the latest available data from the reporting institutions at the time of publication. As the yearbook usually appears in July, the annual crude steel production figure for the latest year will be different from the figure that is published on worldsteel.org in January.

  • Why is the total figure for the year not a sum of the January to December figures?

    Production data are frequently revised at source. In January, we publish the annual production figure as it is reported to us. The monthly figures may have been revised over the course of the year, so the annual figure is not a sum of the published monthly figures. worldsteel does not provide an up-to-the-minute statistics service.