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The OECD Steel Outlook 2026, published on June 4, paints a sobering picture of the global steel industry. Demand contracted for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, excess capacity continues to climb, and a record number of trade actions are fragmenting the international market. For steel importers, distributors, and manufacturers, the report provides critical data for navigating an increasingly complex landscape.

July 1, 2026, marked a turning point in global steel trade. The United Kingdom launched its most aggressive steel import restriction in decades, slashing tariff-free quota volumes by 60% and imposing a 50% duty on out-of-quota shipments.

North America currently holds a 35% market share, with the Asia-Pacific region in second place at 30% and growing fastest.

Aluminum-silicon coated press-hardening steels (Al-Si PHS) resolve this tension by enabling ultra-high-strength structural components — door rings, B-pillars, rocker panels, and battery enclosure frames — at thicknesses as low as 1.0–1.2 mm while achieving tensile strengths exceeding 1,500 MPa after hot stamping.

By the end of 2025, a parallel anti-dumping investigation into corrosion-resistant coated steel (CORE) — which includes aluminized products — entered its final phase, threatening additional duty stacking on top of the existing 50% Section 232 tariffs.