World crude steel production was 158.8 million tonnes in May 2025, down 3.8 percent on the year, the World Steel Association reported on 24 June 2025. China produced 86.6 million tonnes, down 6.9 percent on May 2024, as mills curbed output in response to weak domestic demand and falling prices. Output for the first five months of 2025 totalled 784.0 million tonnes, down 1.3 percent on the same period of 2024. The May report covered the first full month in which the new US Section 232 tariffs were in force, and industry publications noted that producers were still assessing their effects amid continuing weak demand. The World Steel Association again held back its semiannual demand outlook, citing the tariff uncertainty. With global output down in four of the first five months of the year, the data pointed to a market in which the policy shock from Washington was compounding an already soft cycle in construction and manufacturing.
Source: American Machinist — https://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/55300188/global-steel-production-still-weakening-world-steel-assn-may-2025
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