Russia's Steel output hits 15-year low amid sanctions and weak demand
2026-06-16 11:47:06 [Print]
Russia's steel production fell to its lowest level in 15 years in 2025, as Western sanctions, sluggish domestic demand, and high borrowing costs pushed one of the country's key industrial sectors into its deepest downturn since the early 2000s, according to industry data.
Steel output dropped to 67 million metric tons last year --- a 12% decline compared to pre-war 2021 levels, based on figures from the industry association Chermet, as reported by RBC news website.
The downturn intensified in the first quarter of 2026, with production falling 10.4% year-on-year to 15.6 million tons, despite continued demand from defense manufacturers.
The decline underscores mounting pressures on segments of Russia's wartime economy outside the defense sector. While military spending has buoyed certain industries, steelmakers have been hit by shrinking demand from key domestic customers, the loss of Western export markets, and high interest rates that have made financing increasingly costly.
Domestic steel consumption fell 14% in 2025 and dropped a further 15% in the first quarter of this year, the report said.
Russian steel producers have also struggled to offset sales lost after sanctions severed access to markets in the European Union, the UK, the US, Canada, and Japan. Although companies redirected some exports to Turkey, China, and former Soviet states, steel exports between 2021 and 2024 fell by roughly one-third --- or 10 million tons, according to an analyst named Parshukov.
Steel output dropped to 67 million metric tons last year --- a 12% decline compared to pre-war 2021 levels, based on figures from the industry association Chermet, as reported by RBC news website.
The downturn intensified in the first quarter of 2026, with production falling 10.4% year-on-year to 15.6 million tons, despite continued demand from defense manufacturers.
The decline underscores mounting pressures on segments of Russia's wartime economy outside the defense sector. While military spending has buoyed certain industries, steelmakers have been hit by shrinking demand from key domestic customers, the loss of Western export markets, and high interest rates that have made financing increasingly costly.
Domestic steel consumption fell 14% in 2025 and dropped a further 15% in the first quarter of this year, the report said.
Russian steel producers have also struggled to offset sales lost after sanctions severed access to markets in the European Union, the UK, the US, Canada, and Japan. Although companies redirected some exports to Turkey, China, and former Soviet states, steel exports between 2021 and 2024 fell by roughly one-third --- or 10 million tons, according to an analyst named Parshukov.
