As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders around the country and world, steel production in the United States plummeted 34.5% year-over-year to 4.7 million tons in June, according to the World Steel Association.

The Brussels, Belgium-based trade association reported that steel production fell 7% year-over-year globally to 148.3 million tons in June. In the first six months of the year, steel output worldwide has fallen 6% to 873.1 million tons.

Steel production in North America fell 17.6% to 50.2 million tons during the first half of the year.

China again led the world in steel production with 91.6 million tons produced in June, an increase of 4.5% year-over-year. China is insulated from the market forces that affect most other countries as its steel industry is largely state-run.

In June, steel production fell by 26.3% to 6.9 million tons in India, by 36.3% to 5.6 million tons in Japan, by 39.1% and by 14.3% to 5.1 million tons in South Korea. South Korea ranked fourth worldwide in steel output again in June. For the last two months, it has grabbed the spot normally held by the United States — which had long been the world’s top steel producer up until the late 20th century — behind China, Japan, and India.

Last month, steel output dropped by 27.3% to 2.5 million tons in Germany, by 13% to 1.8 million tons in Italy, by 34.9% to 0.8 million tons in France, and by 31.5% to 0.8 million tons in Spain, and by 5% to 7.9 million tons in the post-Soviet Republics in Eurasia.

In June, steel production rose by 9% to 1.8 million tons in Ukraine and by 4.1% to 2.8 million tons in Turkey.