BIR Convention: Recycled steel market shrinks in H1 2025

Global steel mills reduced their output and consumed less recycled steel in the first half of 2025 compared with the same time frame in 2024, according to statistics gathered by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Ferrous Division and presented at its meeting in late October in Bangkok.

Rolf Willeke, BIR ferrous statistics advisor, gathered statistics from several trade groups around the world for the 16th edition of the “World Steel Recycling in Figures” booklet and offered meeting delegates a snapshot of how the steelmaking and steel recycling markets fared in the first half of this year.

Citing the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel), Willeke said global crude steel production totaled nearly 935 million metric tons (mmt) in the first half 2025, a decrease of 2.2 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2024.

Output fell by 3.3 percent in the European Union; 1.9 percent in Asia, Australia and New Zealand; 5.4 percent in the Middle East; 5.4 percent in the former Soviet Union nations that comprise the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); 0.6 percent in North America; and 0.4 percent in South America.

Ferrous scrap melting volumes fell in China, the EU, the United States, Japan and South Korea in the first half of 2025 compared with last year, though consumption of recycled steel increased in India and Turkey.

China’s recycled steel use was down by more than 11 percent in this year’s first half, and ferrous scrap consumption fell by about 9 percent in the U.S. and more than 4 percent in the EU.

On the positive side, India reported a 15.3 percent jump in its recycled steel usein this year’s January-to-June period, and in Turkey melt shop consumption increased by 2.2 percent.

Globally, recycled steel use in what BIR considers key countries and regions was 6.9 percent lower year on year in the first half of 2025, checking in at about 236 mmt in those nations.

By percentage, Turkey and the U.S. remain world leaders in recycled steel usage, with Turkey’s producers relying on scrap for more than 87 percent of their feedstock in the first half of 2025 and the U.S. showing a 66 percent usage rate.

Other national percentages reported include China, 21.2 percent; India, 24.5 percent; South Korea, 33.4 percent; Japan, 36.7 percent; and the EU, 60.2 percent.

To stoke its electric arc furnaces, Turkey purchased 9.4 mmt of imported scrap in the first half of this year. Wilke listed the U.S. and the Netherlands as its main suppliers, with Turkey showing a growing preference for Dutch scrap so far this year.

In the first six months of 2025, Turkey imported 1.72 mmt from the U.S., a volume that was down nearly 19 percent year on year. The 1.5 mmt it imported from the Netherlands, however, represented a 14.6 percent year-on-year increase.

India was the world’s second-largest recycled steel importer in the first six months of 2025, bringing in 4.58 mmt, up 18 percent compared with the same time frame last year. According to Willeke, India’s largest suppliers were the U.S. (920,000 metric tons, up 30 percent compared with last year) and the United Kingdom (470,000 metric tons, up by 7 percent compared with last year).

Pakistan and Thailand increased their recycled steel imports in the first half of 2025, while decreases were reported in Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea.

Despite both having scrap surpluses, the U.S. and the EU each increased their ferrous scrap import volumes in the first half of 2025.

Traders and mill buyers in the EU brought in nearly 2.5 mmt of recycled steel in this year’s first half, a 4.3 percent increase compared with last year. In the U.S., more than 2.2 mmt of ferrous scrap was imported, representing a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase.

Those import figures in both jurisdictions are lower compared with what was exported. The EU shipped out 8.3 mmt of recycled steel in the first half of this year, with Turkey and Egypt as its largest buyers. The U.S. shipped out 6 mmt, with Turkey and Bangladesh as its highest volume buyers despite both nations decreasing their purchases of U.S. scrap so far this year.

Nations with rising recycled steel export volumes so far in 2025 include Japan (up 19.5 percent to 3.8 mmt), Mexico (up 27.4 percent to 700,000 metric tons) and Singapore (up 32.6 percent to 562,000 metric tons).

Conversely, the first half of 2025 brought recycled steel export declines to the following nations: the U.K. (down more than 25 percent to 3.12 mmt), Canada (down 13.2 percent to 1.9 mmt), Australia (down nearly 47 percent to 1.1 mmt) and Hong Kong (down 8.8 percent to 535,000 metric tons).

While the worldwide recycled steel sector was contracting in the first half of this year, global direct-reduced iron (DRI) production has increased by 4.3 percent so far in 2025, said Willeke, citing Worldsteel.

The two largest DRI-producing nations in the first half of this year were India, with a year-on-year increase of 8.7 percent to 29.2 mmt, and Iran, where the 16.3 mmt produced represented a 2.2 percent decrease.

The BIR October 2025 World Recycling Convention & Exhibition was at the Centara Grand Convention Centre at Centralworld in Bangkok from Oct. 26-28.