US Steel Manufacturer Statistics in US 2026 | Key Facts

Steel Manufacturers in the US 2026

The United States steel manufacturing industry remains one of the most critical pillars of the nation’s economic infrastructure heading into 2026. With over a century of industrial heritage woven into the fabric of American prosperity, steel manufacturers in the US continue to supply the raw material backbone behind construction, automotive, defense, energy, and infrastructure sectors alike. The numbers backing this claim are not small — the industry generated an estimated $109.3 billion in total revenue in 2026, powered by 198 active businesses operating across dozens of states from coast to coast. What makes the current landscape so fascinating is not just the sheer scale of production, but the way trade policy, technological shifts, and government investment have fundamentally reshaped how steel gets made and sold within American borders.

If you have ever wondered just how massive the US steel manufacturing sector truly is, the data tells a story that is both compelling and evolving at a rapid pace. From the weekly output figures tracked by the American Iron and Steel Institute to the employment and wage benchmarks published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every metric points toward an industry in active transformation. The passage of sweeping Section 232 tariffs in 2025, which doubled steel duties to 50% by mid-year, has injected new momentum into domestic production while reshaping import patterns overnight. Combined with the landmark Nippon Steel–U.S. Steel acquisition and the continued dominance of electric arc furnace technology, steel manufacturers in the US in 2026 are operating in one of the most dynamic and closely watched industrial environments the country has seen in decades.

Interesting Facts About US Steel Manufacturers in the US 2026 | Key Facts

Before diving into the raw numbers, here are some of the most striking and lesser-known facts about the US steel manufacturing industry in 2026 that deserve attention. Each of these has been verified through official government data sources.

Data Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); U.S. Congressional Research Service; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); IBISWorld Industry Analysis 2026.

The facts listed above paint a picture of an industry that is far more technologically advanced and environmentally conscious than many people realize. The sheer volume of steel being recycled every year — enough to power 18 million homes worth of energy savings — signals that US steel manufacturers have moved well beyond the smoke-belching image of the early twentieth century. The dominance of electric arc furnace technology, now used by 49 companies across 104 facilities, means that the majority of American steel is now produced using recycled scrap metal rather than raw iron ore. This is not just an environmental win; it is an economic one, since EAF mills cost significantly less to build and operate than traditional blast furnace plants. Meanwhile, the Section 232 tariff expansion to 50% and the addition of over 400 derivative product codes demonstrate that the federal government is treating steel manufacturing in the US as a matter of national security — a designation that has direct, measurable consequences for production volumes, pricing, and employment across the sector.

Raw Steel Production Statistics in the US 2026

The production engine of the US steel industry has been running at a strong clip entering 2026. According to data reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute and corroborated by the U.S. Census Bureau, weekly and year-to-date figures show steady output with a notable year-over-year increase compared to 2025.

Data Sources: American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Weekly Production Report, January 2026; U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey; U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025; Federal Reserve Board, G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, updated January 16, 2026.

The raw steel production numbers for early 2026 tell a story of incremental but consistent growth. The fact that weekly output hit 1,752,000 net tons during the first full week of January — a 3.1% increase over the same week in 2025 — suggests that domestic mills are responding positively to the tariff-driven price support environment. The adjusted year-to-date figure of 4,238,000 net tons through mid-January, running 2.9% ahead of the prior year pace, reinforces this trend. It is worth noting, however, that the Federal Reserve’s own capacity utilization reading of 73.45% for December 2025 remains below the 81.1% peak recorded in 2021, indicating that roughly one-quarter of installed American steelmaking capacity still sits idle. With total combined capacity at approximately 107 million tons per year and annual production landing around 81 million tons in 2024, the gap between potential output and actual output remains a significant talking point for industry analysts and policymakers who see room for further domestic expansion.

Steel Manufacturing Workforce and Employment in the US 2026

The human side of US steel manufacturing is just as important as the tonnage figures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks employment, wages, and working conditions for the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector (NAICS 331), which encompasses iron and steel mills, steel product manufacturing, and related operations.

Data Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES); Current Population Survey (CPS); Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW); Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (IIF) program. Data extracted December 11, 2025.

The workforce powering steel manufacturing in the US remains a formidable operation, with nearly 375,000 people employed across the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector as of the latest available BLS data. What stands out immediately is the 2.7% unemployment rate recorded for this sector in September 2025 — well below the national average at the time and reflecting the tight labor market conditions that continue to characterize heavy manufacturing. Production and nonsupervisory workers, who make up the bulk of the workforce at 281,800 jobs, earn an average of $29.62 per hour, translating to roughly $66,000 annually when factoring in the 43-hour average workweek they put in. The number of private industry establishments sitting at 6,075 across the country further underscores the geographic breadth of this sector, while the workplace safety figures — 29 fatalities and a recordable injury rate of 3.4 per 100 full-time workers in 2023 — show that the industry, though still physically demanding, has made meaningful strides in reducing harm compared to historical benchmarks.

Steel Production by Region and State in the US 2026

Steel production is not evenly distributed across the United States. Certain states dominate output due to historical infrastructure, proximity to raw materials, transportation networks, and workforce concentration. The following breakdown reflects the most current state-level and regional data available.

Data Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025; American Iron and Steel Institute, Weekly Production by District, January 2026; U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Manufactures.

Indiana’s hold on the #1 position in American steel production is not accidental — it is the product of decades of strategic infrastructure investment, proximity to Great Lakes shipping routes, and the concentration of the nation’s largest integrated mills in cities like Gary, East Chicago, and Burns Harbor. Producing roughly 25% of all domestic raw steel, the state alone generates more output than any other individual state by a significant margin. What is equally telling is the regional weekly production data from January 2026, which shows the Southern region leading all districts with 770,000 net tons per week. This surge reflects the broader national trend toward electric arc furnace expansion in states like Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, where lower land costs, business-friendly tax incentives, and proximity to scrap metal sources are drawing new minimill investments. The Great Lakes region, while still home to the largest share of integrated mill capacity, is seeing its relative dominance slowly shift as the Southern and Midwest corridors ramp up EAF-based production.

Steel Import and Export Trade Data in the US 2026

Trade flows are a defining feature of the US steel market, particularly given the aggressive tariff posture adopted by the federal government in 2025 and carried into 2026. The data below combines Census Bureau trade figures with AISI import monitoring reports.

Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade in Goods and Services; American Iron and Steel Institute, Steel Imports Monitor; U.S. Congressional Research Service, IN12519; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security.

The import picture for US steel in 2026 is being shaped almost entirely by the Section 232 tariff expansion. Total steel imports slid 10.7% and finished steel imports dropped 14.0% through the first ten months of 2025 compared to the same stretch in 2024 — a direct consequence of the tariff rate being hiked to 25% in February 2025 and then doubled again to 50% in June. The finished steel import market share, which hovered near 19% for most of 2025, dipped to an estimated 16% in October, signaling that domestic mills are capturing an increasing slice of the market previously filled by foreign producers. On the export side, the US shipped roughly 8.7 million tons of steel in 2024, valued at approximately $19.6 billion, with Mexico and Canada jointly accounting for more than half of that total. The 18.2-million-metric-ton trade deficit recorded in 2024 is a figure that continues to motivate federal trade policy, as lawmakers and industry leaders alike view persistent net imports as a vulnerability in the domestic supply chain.

Top Steel Manufacturing Companies and Market Share in the US 2026

The competitive landscape of US steel manufacturing is dominated by a handful of large producers, though the market remains moderately concentrated with the top four companies generating between 40% and 70% of total industry revenue.

Data Sources: IBISWorld, Iron & Steel Manufacturing in the US, 2026; Nucor Corporation Q4 2025 Earnings Report (January 26, 2026); U.S. Congressional Research Service; AISI Industry Data.

Nucor Corporation sits firmly at the top of the American steel hierarchy, commanding roughly 18.1% market share and generating $31.88 billion in full-year revenue for 2025. The company’s dominance is built on its electric arc furnace model, which allows it to ramp production up or down quickly based on demand while maintaining lower carbon emissions than traditional blast furnace operations. Its nearest rival, Steel Dynamics, holds approximately 10.3% of the market and operates with similarly efficient EAF technology, while the combined Nippon Steel–U.S. Steel entity — formed after the landmark $14.9 billion acquisition closed in mid-2025 — holds about 9.1% and brings Japanese research and development capabilities to the table. Cleveland-Cliffs occupies a unique position as the only company in the US that operates every integrated blast furnace steel mill in the country, giving it direct control over iron ore supply from its Great Lakes mining operations. Together, these four companies define the competitive dynamics of an industry where market concentration is moderate, technological investment is fierce, and trade policy plays an outsized role in determining who wins and who struggles.

Steel Pricing and Producer Price Trends in the US 2026

Steel prices are a leading indicator of broader manufacturing health, and the data tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through its Producer Price Index gives a reliable window into how costs have moved throughout 2025 heading into 2026.

Data Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Indexes (PPI); International Price Program (Import/Export Price Indexes); U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025; American Iron and Steel Institute.

Steel pricing in 2025 and into 2026 has been dramatically influenced by the Section 232 tariff escalation. The hot-rolled coil benchmark — the most closely watched indicator for flat-rolled steel — jumped from roughly $725 per metric ton before the tariff increases took full effect to approximately $875–$915 per metric ton by late 2025, a gain of over 20% in less than a year. The BLS Producer Price Index for Primary Metals registered 303.231 in September 2025, with month-to-month movement reflecting the volatility typical of a market still adjusting to new trade realities. Meanwhile, the export price index climbed 2.8% in a single month during September, suggesting that American producers are gaining pricing power on the international stage as well. The total industry sales value of $120 billion recorded in 2024 was down 10% from $132 billion in 2023, but early 2025 and 2026 pricing trends point toward a meaningful recovery as tariff-driven price floors take hold and domestic demand from infrastructure and manufacturing projects continues to firm up.

Steel Productivity and Labor Cost Trends in the US 2026

Productivity — measured as output per hour of labor — is a key determinant of long-term competitiveness in steel manufacturing. The BLS publishes annual productivity data for the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector, offering a clear view of how efficiently the industry converts labor hours into finished output.

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and Costs program, Primary Metal Manufacturing (NAICS 331). Data extracted December 11, 2025.

After three consecutive years of declining productivity from 2021 through 2023, the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector finally turned the corner in 2024, posting a +2.0% gain in output per hour — the first positive reading in four years. This improvement came even as total hours worked fell 4.2% and overall output dipped 2.3%, meaning that mills produced more steel per labor hour even while running fewer total hours. That is a sign of operational efficiency gains, likely driven by automation upgrades, better scrap sorting technology, and the continued shift toward electric arc furnace operations that require less manpower per ton of output. However, the flip side of that coin is visible in the unit labor costs row: costs have risen every single year since 2021, jumping 5.8% in 2024 alone. For US steel manufacturers in 2026, keeping unit labor costs under control while sustaining productivity gains will remain one of the central operational challenges, especially as wages in the sector continue to climb and skilled-worker shortages persist across the broader manufacturing economy.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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