Steel
Iron refined and alloyed into a base industrial metal, produced as sheet, coil, bar and other forms for construction, automotive and infrastructure use.
Covered in 2 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on September 28, 2026.
Overview
Steel is iron refined and alloyed, chiefly with carbon, to increase strength and give it properties raw iron doesn't have, then cast and rolled into standard commercial forms — sheet and coil for automotive and appliances, structural bar and beam for construction, plate for shipbuilding and pipe. It's the highest-volume metal produced anywhere in the world by a wide margin, underpinning nearly every category of physical infrastructure.
Production Routes
World crude steel output was about 1.85 billion tonnes in 2025, with China alone accounting for roughly half. Production runs through two main routes: the basic oxygen furnace (BOF), which converts iron ore-derived pig iron into steel and dominates in China and much of Asia, and the electric arc furnace (EAF), which melts recycled scrap and is more common in North America and Europe, where scrap availability is higher and carbon-intensity pressure is stronger.
Sources
- Global crude steel output ~1.85 billion tonnes in 2025 — December 2025 crude steel production and 2025 global crude steel production totals (2026)
Coverage
Essar-Owned Mesabi Metallics Plans a $15 Billion Steel Mill in Iowa, Unveiled by Trump
Mesabi Metallics, owned by India's Essar Group, plans a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa that President Trump unveiled at the White House on Monday. It would take iron ore from the company's new Minnesota mine.
Trump Doubles Canada Auto Tariffs to 50% as Trade Talks Collapse, Killing Hopes for a Steel Tariff Cut
President Trump will raise tariffs on Canadian autos and parts to 50% starting January 2027, after trade talks collapsed and killed a proposed cut to Canada's steel tariff.
