Steel Manufacturing
The industry that converts iron ore, scrap and semifinished inputs into finished steel products such as coil, bars, rods and sheet, supplying construction, automotive and general manufacturing.
Covered in 30 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 16, 2026.
Overview
Steel manufacturing converts iron ore or recycled scrap into finished steel via one of two dominant routes. The traditional blast-furnace/basic-oxygen-furnace (BF-BOF) route reduces iron ore into molten pig iron with coke, then refines it into steel with oxygen — still the majority route worldwide at about 70% of global output. Global crude steel production totalled 1.885 billion tonnes in 2024, with China alone producing just over a billion tonnes, roughly half the world's total.
The Iron Ore vs. Scrap Split
Iron ore is the feedstock for the BF-BOF route that still produces the majority of the world's steel, particularly in China, where the bulk of capacity remains blast-furnace based. The alternative electric arc furnace (EAF) route melts recycled scrap directly using electric current instead of starting from virgin ore, and it's been gaining ground — its global share rose to about 29% of output in 2024, far higher in markets like the US (72%) and India, where it dominates.
Sources
- EAF share of global steel production reached 29.1% in 2024 — The share of EAF in global steel production in 2024 increased to 29.1% (2025)
Coverage
Erdene Says Its $687 Million Mongolian Molybdenum Mine Could Start Producing by 2031
Steelmakers could gain a new long-life source of molybdenum.
Swiss Steel to Sell or Close Two German Plants as Specialty Steel Demand Shrinks
European specialty steel capacity is being cut as demand falls.
Jindal Ferrous Starts Its ₹5,000 Crore Carbon Steel Plant in Odisha's Jajpur
India gains new integrated capacity with modern European equipment.
Iron Ore Falls Below $90 a Tonne for the First Time Since 2024 on Weak Chinese Demand
Steelmakers pay less for their main raw material.
Rio Tinto's Q3 Iron Ore Sales Beat Estimates as It Stays on Track to Free Up $5 Billion
Steady iron ore supply supports steelmakers' raw material needs.
US Steel Mills Gain the Upper Hand in 2027 Contract Talks as Supply Stays Tight
US mills are winning better contract terms.
Two Killed After Gas Exposure at Vedanta's ESL Steel Plant in Jharkhand
A fatal gas exposure puts plant safety practices under official investigation.
India's Draft Steel Policy Sets a 604 Million-Tonne Goal and Needs 772 Mt of Iron Ore
A 604 million-tonne target signals long-term growth for Indian steelmakers.
Tata Steel's India Output Rises 10% to 6.21 Million Tonnes in the September Quarter
Tata Steel's Indian output and deliveries both grew from a year earlier.
India's Steel Ministry Is Unlikely to Seek New Curbs on Cheap Imports, Source Says
Mills face continued competition from cheap imports.
Shyam Metalics Plans a ₹50,000 Crore, 9 Million-Tonne Steel Complex in Maharashtra
A major new integrated steel complex is planned in Maharashtra.
India's Steel Demand Grows 7.5% in the First Half, Outpacing Its Own Output
Strong demand and higher prices support Indian mills.
EU Steel Exports Fall 20% in the First Half as Europe's Mills Run Near Record Lows
European mills face falling exports, high energy costs and flat demand.
Steel Ministry Asks SAIL and NMDC to Look for Mining Assets Abroad
Captive raw material supply could make Indian steel costs more predictable.
NMDC Starts Its Rs 5,427 Crore Pellet Plant and Slurry Pipeline in Chhattisgarh
Steelmakers in the region gain a steadier source of pellet feed.
Essar-Owned Mesabi Metallics Plans a $15 Billion Steel Mill in Iowa, Unveiled by Trump
A new 7.5-million-ton mill would add large domestic US capacity.
India Delists 15 Scrap Inspection Agencies, Leaving Metal Scrap Cargo Stuck at Ports
Secondary steelmakers that melt scrap face higher raw material costs and delays.
South Africa Raises Steel Tariffs as High as 30% to Shield Local Mills From Chinese Imports
Higher tariffs and new import permit controls reduce competition from underpriced Chinese steel, giving domestic producers like ArcelorMittal South Africa and Safal Steel more room to compete on price for the product categories covered.
Greenland Resources Stock Rises 13% as It Ties Its Molybdenum Project to the New US-Greenland Security Deal
SSAB and the Outokumpu-led group of steel and alloy makers have secured long-term, price-banded ferro-molybdenum supply from Malmbjerg, reducing their exposure to volatile spot molybdenum markets.
Goldman Sachs Says Rising Mining Costs Have Pushed Iron Ore's Price Floor to $90-95 a Tonne
A structurally higher iron ore cost floor raises the underlying raw-material cost for steelmakers globally, adding to pressure on mills that are already running on thin or negative margins in markets like China.
Iron Ore Shipments on the Great Lakes Fall 40% as US-Canada Steel Tariffs Disrupt Trade
Canadian steelmakers facing US tariffs on their finished steel are producing less and, in turn, importing less US iron ore -- the mechanism behind Duluth-Superior's falling ore tonnage.
India Looks to Ship-Recycled Steel to Boost Domestic Manufacturing as Alang's Output Slides
Wider certified use of scrap-based secondary steel gives India's electric-arc and induction-furnace mills a domestic, lower-energy input that substitutes for imported steel-melting scrap and ore-based coking coal.
China's Steel Mills Cut Output as Pre-Holiday Iron Ore Stockpiling Lifts Prices
Chinese steel mills are running at a loss and cutting blast-furnace output even as the ore they need to buy has gotten modestly more expensive, a margin squeeze from both directions.
Canada's Steel Tariffs Jump to 50%, Adding Up to $100 Million to a Lithium Mine's Construction Bill
Integrated steelmakers and electric-arc-furnace producers gain pricing power once benchmark prices clear roughly $1,150 a short ton, a level already exceeded.
Quebec's Steel, Copper and Aluminium Exports Fell 36% as the US-Canada Trade War Bites
Quebec's steel exports, grouped with copper and aluminium, fell 36% over the twelve months to February 2026, with the province's metals-sector employment down 3.6% over the same period.
Vale Stock Holds Steady as Profit Falls 34% and a New Rare-Earths Plan Emerges
Chinese steel demand is genuinely split — construction-linked demand softening while manufacturing-linked demand stays resilient — leaving the net effect on steelmakers' input costs and output plans mixed rather than clearly favorable or unfavorable.
Steel's Green Shift Could Run Into a 133-Million-Tonne Iron Ore Shortfall by 2040
A widening shortage of DR-grade iron ore raises the cost and complicates the sourcing of the specific feedstock that lower-carbon, DRI-based steelmaking depends on.
Canada Doubles Tariff on US Steel and Aluminum to 50% in Trade War Retaliation
Canadian steel and aluminum producers gain a wider protective tariff wall against US-made competition, now matched at 50% on both sides of the border, while US steel and aluminum exporters lose competitiveness in the Canadian market -- an offsetting effect within the same industry depending which side of the border a producer sits on.
The UK Ships 70-80% of Its Scrap Metal Abroad. New Trade Curbs Could Change That
Retaining more scrap steel domestically could support the UK's planned electric arc furnace buildout, even though research suggests domestic demand alone cannot absorb all of the country's scrap output.
Trump Doubles Canada Auto Tariffs to 50% as Trade Talks Collapse, Killing Hopes for a Steel Tariff Cut
US-based steel producers keep the protection of the existing 50% Section 232 tariff on Canadian steel now that the negotiated 25% cut has fallen through, while Canadian steelmakers lose the market-access relief that had been under discussion.
