How China dominates resilient steel and aluminum production

As Donald Trump's attempts to get other nations to the tariff bargaining table continue, we analyze the global picture for steel and aluminum production. The US president is reportedly exempting American automakers from his 25% duty on imports of these two crucial metals.

Despite the trade war, it's worth remembering that both industries are not that US-centric - though, to be sure, tariff effects will cascade through global supply chains.

Data from Worldsteel and the International Aluminium Institute show that North America accounts for just over 5% of global aluminum and steel production. A majority of the production of both metals takes place in China.

Our visualizations suggest Trump's election and trade rhetoric has seemingly had little effect on global production. A brief year-on-year decline in metal production in February was promptly followed by a bounce-back in March.

China's share of US steel imports has been falling for years since previous rounds of tariffs. The US makes most of the steel it uses; imports come mostly from Canada, Mexico and Brazil, though some are shipped from South Korea.