January 13, 2026 | Brussels, Belgium

The World Steel Association today released its "Indirect Steel Trade Data Report (2014-2024)".

From 2014 to 2024, indirect steel exports from 74 countries increased by 26%, from 325 million tons in 2014 to 410 million tons in 2024. In 2024, indirect steel trade volume was equivalent to 93% of direct exports.

Direct and Indirect Steel Exports, 2014-2024 (Unit: Million Tons, Converted to Finished Steel)

Indirect Steel Exports by Industry (Unit: Million Tons (Mt), Converted to Finished Steel)

Definitions and Sources

Indirect steel trade is realized through the import and export of steel-containing commodities.

Finished product trade data (including steel product trade) is reported by value and quantity. To calculate the volume of indirect steel trade, the amount of steel required to produce each finished product must be calculated, i.e., the steel coefficient for each product, expressed in terms of weight. In the methodology used by the World Steel Association, the steel coefficient refers to the amount of finished steel (in tons) required to produce one ton of finished product.

Regarding product classification, the World Steel Association's indirect trade study adopts the United Nations' Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS). The HS codes used in the study can be up to six digits long and are used to define traded products in detail; approximately 1000 codes are used in total.

This study further organizes and summarizes trade data and calculation results, classifying them into six product categories: articles of metal, machinery and equipment, electrical equipment, household appliances, and motor vehicles and other transport equipment. This classification conforms to the industry classification used by the World Steel Association in its Steel Weighted Industrial Production (SWIP) analysis.

The trade data used in this indirect trade study is sourced from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade).