According to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel), global crude steel production fell by around 38 million tonnes to 1.85 billion tonnes in 2025. At the same time, scrap use in steelmaking increased both as a share of output and, in key regions, in absolute terms, according to recently published statistics from Worldsteel and the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). Chinese steelmakers in particular increased their use of scrap.
According to Worldsteel's publication "World Steel in Figures", 30.3 per cent of global crude steel output was produced in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) last year. This was 1.2 percentage points higher than in 2024. By contrast, the share produced via the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route fell from 70.4 per cent to 69.4 per cent. A further 0.3 per cent (2024: 0.5 per cent) was produced using other processes, including the Siemens-Martin process, which remains in limited use in Russia and Ukraine.
Worldsteel does not publish absolute figures for global scrap consumption. In its recently released statistical report, "World Steel Recycling in Figures", BIR estimates annual worldwide steel scrap consumption at around 630 million tonnes. According to Robert Willeke, BIR's statistical adviser, the use of scrap instead of primary raw materials avoided almost 950 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Mr Willeke presented the figures at the association's meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, in early June.
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