According to the calculations made by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) and the World Steel Association (worldsteel), approximately 630 million mt of recycled steel are used each year in global steel production. This level of scrap utilization prevents nearly 950 million mt of carbon emissions annually while also reducing energy consumption and conserving natural resources.
Production and use of direct reduced iron (DRI), another key raw material in lower-carbon steelmaking, has also expanded. Global DRI production increased by 5.1 percent year on year in the January-September 2025 period, reaching 95.375 million mt. India remained the largest producer, with its output rising by 8.4 percent to 43.761 million mt, followed by Iran, where production grew 1.7 percent to 26.550 million mt.
Diverging trends in major steel markets
Recycled steel consumption trends varied across leading steel-producing countries in the January-September period of 2025.
China remained the largest consumer in the given period despite a 13.3 percent decline in recycled steel use to 142.21 million mt, compared to a three percent drop in crude steel production to 746.3 million mt.
India recorded strong growth in the period in question, with recycled steel usage rising 16 percent to 29 million mt, exceeding its 10.5 percent increase in crude steel production to 122.4 million mt. Turkey also posted growth, with recycled steel consumption up 4.3 percent year on year to 24.456 million mt, while its crude steel output edged up only 0.7 percent.
By contrast, in the January-September period of 2025 recycled steel use declined in the EU-27 (-4 percent to 56.3 million mt), the US (-5.5 percent to 40.9 million mt), Japan (-5.7 percent to 21.964 million mt) and South Korea (-7.1 percent to 15.564 million mt), even though crude steel production rose in some of these markets, including the US (+2.2 percent) and Japan (+4.5 percent).
Turkey remains top global importer
On the trade front, Turkey retained its position as the world’s largest recycled steel importer, despite a 6.8 percent decline in imports to 13.988 million mt.
India ranked second, with imports increasing 2.8 percent to 6.54 million mt. Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea saw notable declines in scrap imports, while the EU-27, the United States, Pakistan and Thailand increased their purchases.
The EU-27 continued as the largest exporter of recycled steel, shipping 11.939 million mt despite a four percent drop. The US remained the second-largest exporter, though exports fell sharply by 20.4 percent to 8.906 million mt. Japan, the UK, Mexico and Singapore recorded export increases.
During the January-September period, export prices for recycled steel from the US and the EU-27 followed largely parallel trends.