The base of the industrial economy: made from iron ore and coal, and half of it made in one country.
Steel is iron alloyed with a small amount of carbon, and it is by far the most widely used metal. About 1.9 billion tonnes are made each year, from a chain that starts with iron ore (about 2.6 billion tonnes a year mined) and metallurgical coal. A typical blast-furnace route uses roughly 1.4 tonnes of iron ore and 0.8 tonnes of coal per tonne of steel; the alternative, the electric arc furnace, melts scrap or direct-reduced iron instead. That makes steel an unusual market because its raw materials (ore, coal, scrap) are traded and priced separately, and the margin between them and finished steel is what mills actually earn. Construction and infrastructure take about half of all steel, followed by machinery, automotive and metal products.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
China makes about 52% of the world's raw steel (980 Mt of about 1,900 Mt) and about 64% of its pig iron (830 Mt of 1,300 Mt). Pig iron output of about 1.3 Gt against 1.9 Gt of raw steel shows that roughly two thirds of steel still starts in a blast furnace. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
Australia and Brazil together mine about 54% of the world's iron ore, and almost all of it is exported. China mines about 290 Mt of usable ore but its ore is low in iron, so it relies heavily on imports from Australia and Brazil. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS estimates world iron ore reserves at about 200 billion tonnes of crude ore containing about 87 billion tonnes of iron, with resources above 900 billion tonnes, so there is no physical shortage. The more useful comparison is quality. Australia holds about 59 Gt of crude ore with about 27 Gt of contained iron (roughly 46% iron), Brazil 34 Gt with 15 Gt (about 44%), Russia 35 Gt with 14 Gt, and China 17 Gt with only 3 Gt (about 18%). China's domestic ore is poor, which is why it buys most of its ore from Australia and Brazil, and why ore grade and impurities decide price as much as volume.
Steelmaking has two main routes. In the blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route, iron ore, coke and limestone make hot metal (pig iron), which is converted to steel with oxygen and some scrap. In the electric arc furnace (EAF) route, scrap or direct-reduced iron (DRI) is melted with electricity; USGS notes the US also produces DRI and hot-briquetted iron to supply EAF mills. The BF-BOF route depends on metallurgical coal, which links steel to coal supply and price: premium hard coking coal from Australia reached about $265 per tonne (FOB) in late September 2026, a 17-month high, on tight Australian supply. EAF steel depends on scrap availability and on electricity cost.
Steel is the most recycled material by volume. Scrap is the main feedstock for electric arc furnaces and is also charged into basic oxygen furnaces, so scrap prices and the supply of end-of-life steel (vehicles, buildings, machinery) are central to costs and to the carbon footprint of the finished steel. Scrap is traded in many grades (heavy melting, shredded, busheling, turnings), priced by region and by residual elements such as copper and tin that a furnace cannot easily remove.
China is the steel market's centre of gravity: about 52% of raw steel and about 64% of pig iron. USGS notes that steel demand in China fell in 2025, offset by growth in developing economies including Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. When the domestic market weakens, Chinese mills can export more, and trade-defence measures on steel have multiplied in many markets (the United States, for example, raised tariffs on steel imports to 50% for most countries in June 2025). For buyers, Chinese output decisions are a leading indicator for iron ore demand and for finished-steel prices elsewhere.
Iron ore is priced against a benchmark of 62% iron fines delivered to north China. USGS reports that benchmark averaged about $99 per tonne in the first nine months of 2025, down from about $112 in the same period of 2024. Cargoes are adjusted for iron content (a premium for higher grades and a discount for lower) and penalised for alumina, silica, phosphorus and moisture. Ore is traded as lump, fines and pellets, and iron-bearing feed such as DRI and hot-briquetted iron trades at a premium to ore.
Finished steel is priced by product and region, not on a single global exchange price. The main forms are semi-finished (billet and slab), long products (rebar, wire rod, sections), flat products (hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil, coated sheet) and tubular products. Regional prices can diverge sharply when tariffs and quotas change, so the same grade can have very different prices in the United States, Europe and Asia. When comparing quotes, confirm the standard and grade, the form and tolerance, the Incoterm, and whether the price includes mill test certificates and inspection.
For steel, specify the standard, grade, form and tolerance, and insist on mill test certificates traceable to the heat number. Equivalent grades from different standards are not always identical, so check chemistry and mechanical properties against the actual requirement, and watch tariff and quota status when buying across borders.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.