World Steel Statistics 2019, published by the World Steel Association in June, show that world steel trade and its percentage of total steel production declined for the second consecutive year in 2018 due to uncertainty in the trade environment.

Global trade in finished and semi-finished steel continued to fall in 2018 to 457 million tonnes, or 27.1% of total steel production of 1,686 million tonnes; figures published by worldsteel show that production in 2017 was 463 million tonnes, or 28.7% of total production of 1,613 million tonnes. This compares to 477 million tonnes of steel traded globally in 2016, representing 31.4% of the total production of 1,517 million tonnes.

Many market participants believe that the rise in trade protectionism is the main reason for the marked decline in global steel trade levels.

Edwin Bassen, director general of the World Steel Association, said in an interview in April: "Trade protectionist measures as a philosophy are undoubtedly on the increase, and this philosophy has tended to increase over the last year or so."

Bassen noted that since the 1970s, about a third of steel has been traded among each other, but now we are seeing the beginning of regionalisation of steel use.

In its short-term outlook for April 2019, worldsteel predicted that global steel demand is expected to continue to grow in 2019 and 2020, but that the growth rate will slow as the global economy slows.

However, worldsteel recently said that uncertainty in the trade environment and volatility in financial markets continues and could pose downside risks to this forecast.

worldsteel recently concluded a global economic simulation exercise with the Oxford Economics Institute and found that the steel industry sold $2.5 trillion worth of products in 2017, generating $500 billion in value added. For every $1 of value added in the global economy for the steel industry's own work, other industries supported an additional $2.50 of value-added activity due to purchases of raw materials, goods, energy and services.