H. Yoo
Research expert covering South Korea
Steel industry in North America - statistics & facts
The history of North American steel production goes back to the late 1900s when steel production became industrialized in the United States. Specifically, Andrew Carnegie contributed to the expansion of the steel industry by constructing large steel factories in Pennsylvania, as the Carnegie Steel Company. Since then, steel has been important for North American countries' economic growth. As of the year 2023, the primary metal manufacturing industry in the United States reported a gross output of approximately 318.9 billion U.S. dollars. Taking the values of 2018 as a benchmark, the Mexican iron and steel industry generated a gross domestic product of just under 58.9 billion Mexican pesos in the year 2023. Furthermore, that year, iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing made around 38.2 billion Canadian dollars.
On July 1, 2020, the new era of North American trade began. The new trade agreement, namely the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), aims to enhance North American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses' rights while maintaining free trade in the region.
On July 1, 2020, the new era of North American trade began. The new trade agreement, namely the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), aims to enhance North American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses' rights while maintaining free trade in the region.
The state of North American steel
In 2023, global crude steel production reached roughly 1.9 billion metric tons, of which 5.8 percent were manufactured by North America. The United States accounted for the biggest market in that year, with a crude steel production level of 81.39 million metric tons. In comparison, the manufacturing levels in Mexico and Canada were below 17 million metric tons. In recent times, the North American steel industry has encountered numerous challenges, including weak global market demand, disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials, labor shortages, transportation bottlenecks, and escalating prices for primary materials and energy. Together, these problems lower the production levels and worldwide steel trade in the region. Therefore, the production levels of steel products experienced decreases. As of the year 2023, the total production of hot rolled steel products in North America amounted to over 114.14 million metric tons, almost the same as the previous years, when the figure was nearly 113.96 million metric tons. Furthermore, the North American production of hot rolled long steel products dropped by six percent year-on-year and reached 37.5 million metric tons in 2023.Steel Trade in North America
The steel industry in North America is heavily dependent on imports. In 2023, the difference between North America's imports and exports of steel was 41 million metric tons, which was the highest among all regions. In particular, in the year 2023, the United States imported just under 26.5 million metric tons of semi-finished and finished steel products, indicating a decrease of nine percent compared to the export volume recorded in the previous year. The import levels for these products in Mexico and Canada were about 17.5 and 8.6 million metric tons. In terms of exports, the United States has exported around 8.9 million metric tons of semi-finished and finished goods in 2023. That year, Canada and Mexico had lower import figures than the United States, with around 6.7 and 3.1 million metric tons, respectively.
