According to SMM statistics, both mill inventory and social inventory saw varying degrees of destocking. Total construction steel inventory stood at 7.8479 million mt, down 137,400 mt WoW, down 1.72% WoW, with destocking pace slowing down.

[SMM Steel] Vietnam officially became the world’s 10th largest crude steel producer after April 2026 output reached 2.1 million mt, up 4% y-o-y, according to worldsteel data. January-April crude steel production totaled 8.5 million mt, rising 8.4% y-o-y. Market participants said the growth reflected Vietnam’s rapid expansion in integrated steelmaking capacity and increasing production of higher-value steel products. Hoa Phat remained the country’s largest producer, contributing around 11 million mt in 2025 and targeting over 14 million mt of crude steel output in 2026.

As of May 26, the operating rate of 50 major construction steel EAF steel mills nationwide was 39.9%, down 0.26% WoW; the capacity utilization rate was 41.97%, down 0.36% WoW; daily average production of construction steel was 93,500 mt, down 800 mt WoW.

According to the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABR), Brazil's crude steel production reached 2.673 million metric tons (mt) in April 2026, slightly up from 2.645 million mt in April 2025. Despite a 7.1% year-on-year drop in rolled product output to 1.869 million mt—driven by a 7.9% decline in flat products (1.077 million mt) and a 6.1% drop in long products (792,000 mt)—domestic sales of steel products increased by 7.1% to 1.797 million mt. Furthermore, apparent steel consumption decreased by 2.7% to 2.100 million mt, while exports surged by 62.4% to 1.054 million mt and imports contracted sharply by 33.3% to 363,000 mt.

Italy-based Feralpi Group’s German subsidiary, Feralpi Stahl, has announced a strategic capacity expansion at its Riesa plant, aiming to increase annual steel production from approximately 1 million metric tons (mt) to as much as 1.3 million mt. The core of this expansion is driven by the new spooler rolling mill—officially inaugurated on May 15, 2025—which is currently operating on a two-shift system and is expected to gradually contribute an additional 400,000 to 450,000 mt to the site's existing 850,000 mt structural steel rolling capacity. To fully realize this production target, the company plans to transition to three-shift operations starting in 2027, complemented by broader investments in scrap processing and site modernization.

According to provisional government data, India became a net importer of finished steel in April 2026—the first month of the 2026-2027 fiscal year. During the month, finished steel imports surged by 30.8% year-on-year to an estimated 0.7 million metric tons (mt), outpacing the 0.5 million mt in exports, which also grew by 24.9% over the corresponding month of the previous year. This trade reversal contrasts with the recently concluded 2025-2026 fiscal year, where India achieved a net exporter status with 6.6 million mt of total exports against 6.5 million mt of imports. The shift was primarily fueled by an 8.2% jump in domestic finished steel consumption to approximately 13 million mt, while crude steel production recorded a narrower 3.9% growth to 13.8 million mt.

According to data released by the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl), Germany's crude steel production surged by 15.3% year-on-year in April 2026 to reach 3.51 million metric tons (mt), bringing cumulative production for the first four months of the year (January-April 2026) to 13.56 million mt, up 9.1% compared to the same period in 2025. This production increase was primarily led by the oxygen-blown blast furnace route, which jumped 16.9% year-on-year in April to 2.45 million mt, while electric arc furnace (EAF) production rose by 11.7% to 1.06 million mt during the month. Despite these positive figures, WV Stahl stressed that this output spike reflects a low statistical base from 2025 rather than an industrial turnaround.

According to the Brazil Steel Institute (Aço Brasil), the country's finished steel trade deficit narrowed significantly in the first four months of 2026, dropping to 425,000 metric tons (mt)—a sharp contraction compared to the 1.1 million mt deficit recorded in the same period of 2025. Cumulative finished steel imports for January-April 2026 fell by 25.1% year-on-year to 1.1 million mt, while domestic sales by Brazilian mills rose by 6.3% year-on-year to 6.3 million mt, pushing total apparent domestic consumption to 7.1 million mt. Despite the narrowing deficit, Brazil remained a net importer as exports decreased by 4.7% year-on-year to 715,000 mt, while crude steel production for the period registered a 4.2% increase to 11.2 million mt.

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Market Remained Stable with a Wait-and-See Attitude, Trading Stayed Mediocre] May 22, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore market experienced minor fluctuations...

[SMM Steel] Global crude steel production declined 1.9% y-o-y to 153.4 million mt in April 2026, while January-April output fell 2.0% y-o-y to 613.3 million mt, according to worldsteel data. China’s April crude steel output dropped 2.8% y-o-y to 83.6 million mt, while India, South Korea, and the US recorded growth of 3.9%, 4.8%, and 9.4% respectively. EU-27 output declined 1.8% y-o-y to 11.0 million mt, while CIS production fell sharply by 13.4% y-o-y. Market participants said global steel production remains under pressure from weak demand and ongoing regional trade and geopolitical uncertainties.