Visualizing 50 years of global steel production
An interesting infographic from The Visual Capitalist shows steel production by nation over time, which was made using data from the World Steel Association.
According to The Visual Capitalist, global steel production has more than tripled over the past 50 years despite the fact that nations like the U.S. and Russia have seen declining domestic production and a rising reliance upon imports.
The most stunning aspect of the chart is China’s absolute dominance in the industry. China now produces about half of all of the steel in the world.
China has similar dominance in processing other metals. According to the International Energy Agency, China processes 40 percent of the global copper supply, more than 50 percent of the global lithium supply, and more than 80 percent of rare earth metals.
Instead of becoming increasingly reliant upon China for steel and other metals, the United States should build up our own metal processing capabilities.