According to data from the World Steel Association (WorldSteel), cited by Ukrstalprom, global pig iron production in January–April 2026 decreased by 1.6% year-on-year to 456.3 million tonnes. This serves as a significant market indicator, as pig iron remains the fundamental raw material for steelmaking and reflects overall activity across the metallurgical supply chain. Furthermore, the statistics reveal varying dynamics across production technologies, which is vital for assessing the structure of global supply.
Production Volumes and Market Technological Structure
During the first four months of 2026, the world produced 416.11 million tonnes of pig iron via the blast furnace method, while the direct reduced iron (DRI) method accounted for 37.24 million tonnes. This confirms that traditional blast furnace metallurgy continues to form the bulk of global output, although the direct reduction segment maintains its own growth momentum. For market analysts, this ratio is an important marker of technological balance and the availability of raw materials for subsequent steel production.
In April 2026, global pig iron output reached 116.3 million tonnes, a 0.4% decrease compared to April 2025 and 0.8% lower than in March. Monthly blast furnace production fell to 104.5 million tonnes, down 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) and 3.2% month-on-month (MoM). Conversely, DRI production reached 12.8 million tonnes, representing a 5.4% increase in annual terms. This divergence indicates the gradually strengthening role of alternative technologies in the global metallurgical structure.
Ukraine ranked 14th among 40 pig iron producing countries for the period of January–April, with an output of 2.36 million tonnes, a slight 0.3% decrease YoY. Against the backdrop of a general global decline, this relatively contained drop demonstrates the country's sustained presence in the international market. For the Ukrainian industrial sector, such statistics are crucial not only for exports but also for evaluating the internal raw material resilience of the metallurgical complex.
Impact on the Steel Market and Solutions from winox.ua
A contraction in global pig iron production typically signals more cautious sentiment in the metallurgy sector, potential revisions of capacity utilization, and market sensitivity to raw material and energy costs. Since pig iron is directly linked to steel manufacturing, these dynamics can influence pricing in adjacent segments, including sheet metal, long products, and stainless steel. For procurement departments of industrial companies, this necessitates more careful planning of contracts, delivery schedules, and inventory levels.
In such an environment, the importance of a reliable supplier grows, ensuring predictable deliveries and product quality control. winox.ua operates with this exact mindset, supplying rolled metal, stainless steel, and non-ferrous metals for production and engineering tasks to help clients mitigate volatile market risks. When global raw material statistics point to a slowdown, stable access to certified metal products becomes a practical tool for continuous enterprise operation.
Current data should also be viewed in a broader context. As previously reported by GMK Center, global pig iron production decreased by 1.7% in 2025 to 1.368 billion tonnes, with China, India, and Japan remaining the largest producers. Therefore, the 2026 decline does not appear to be a random fluctuation but rather continues a cautious market trend. For industrial market participants, this underscores the need to combine active statistical monitoring with more disciplined management of metal product procurement.