Iron and steel factsheet

The backbone of industrialised economies, iron (in the form of steel) is by far the most important metal in the world today. Strong when alloyed, abundant and relatively inexpensive in comparison to other metals, iron is used extensively in the construction of buildings, bridges and railways and in the manufacture of motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, and appliances. The rapid pace of industrialisation in the large emerging economies of Asia, China and India in particular, has lead to an unprecedented increase in the demand for steel and rising prices for steelmaking materials (i.e. iron ore and ferrous scrap). Although resources are abundant improving resource productivity remains a priority because of climate change concerns stemming from the energy intensity of the steelmaking process. Increased use of ferrous scrap offers limited opportunities for energy and raw material savings in the near term, but there is potential to achieve a circular iron economy as global in-use stocks stabilise in the long term.