According to the latest statistics published by Midrex and the World Steel Association, global production of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) reached 140.8 million tons in 2024. This figure is about 5 million tons (3.8%) higher than the record of 2023. Since 2019, global DRI production has increased by an average of 32.7 million tons annually, representing a cumulative growth of more than 30% during this period.
Midrex announced that its plants produced 76.2 million tons of DRI last year, thereby accounting for more than half of the world’s total production. According to the report, India with 54.7 million tons and Iran with 34.7 million tons were the largest DRI producers in 2024. The combined production of these two countries represented about 63% of total global DRI output.
The report added that India captured the major share of the production growth in 2024. In addition, several new natural gas–based DRI plants were commissioned in Algeria, China, and Iran. Despite the remarkable growth in DRI, the data shows that the growth of sponge iron production has outpaced the overall growth of crude steelmaking (1%).
