On Tuesday, March 24, at the Istanbul Marriott Asia Hotel, during the second session of the Eurometal Steel Day and YİSAD Flat Steel Conference, organized in collaboration with SteelOrbis, SteelOrbis CEO Murat Erılmaz gave a presentation on “Overview of the Turkish Steel Industry” and shared key ideas regarding global and local markets.
Mr. Erılmaz noted that global steel production exceeded 1.9 billion tons in 2021, although there has been limited decline over the past two years. Speaking about China's production policy, he said that despite production reduction targets announced early last year, production increased during the year but ended at a total of 960 million tonnes, reflecting a decline of about 45 million tonnes by the end of the year. He added that he believed the decline was more a result of weak domestic demand than a planned measure, adding that China started 2026 with more aggressive production cuts, resulting in January output of 75.3 million tonnes, down 14 percent from last year. He stressed that the slowdown in China was also affecting global output, with the world seeing a 6.5 percent year-on-year decline in January.
Signs of weakening production and capacity utilization in Turkey
In his assessment of Turkey, Mr. Erılmaz noted that liquid steel production peaked in 2021, having experienced a significant decline during the period 2022-2023, and then returned to a growth trend in 2024 and 2025 with the addition of new capacity exceeding 38 million tons. However, noting a weak start to 2026, it said January production was 3.39 million tonnes; although this represents a 5.8 percent year-on-year increase, it marks a decline from previous months. The main reasons for this decline included export difficulties resulting from the implementation of CBAM and weak domestic demand.
Mr. Yerylmaz noted that the growth trend in electric furnace and blast furnace production, observed in the second half of 2025, gave way to a decline at the beginning of this year, adding that the downward trend in production arose due to lower exports and weak performance of the domestic market. Speaking about capacity utilization levels, he noted that in January the level of flat products exceeded 80 percent, but in February it is expected to decline to about 75 percent due to weak exports. He added that the situation is even worse for long products, with capacity utilization rates falling below 60 percent.
Cost pressures are rising while demand remains weak
Noting,
