POSCO fell to sixth place in global crude steel production in 2020, a decrease of one place compared to 2019. After quickly overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, Chinese steel manufacturers have seen a significant increase in crude steel production and a rise in rankings.

According to the 2021 steel data released by the World Steel Association (WSA) on June 7, POSCO's crude steel production in 2020 was 40.58 million tons, a decrease of 5.9% from 2019.

The crude steel production of modern ironmaking decreased by 8.1% year-on-year to 19.81 million tons, from 15th place in 2019 to 16th place in 2020.

POSCO and Modern Iron Works have responded to the sharp decline in demand after the 2020 pandemic with flexible operating methods. Especially the production of POSCO naturally declined, as it coincided with the opportunity for the internal space adjustment of furnace 3 at Guangyang Iron and Steel Plant (4600 square meters to 5500 square meters). Modern ironmaking has also abandoned the production of electric furnace hot-rolled thin plates.

On the other hand, Chinese companies have made significant progress, leading other countries in announcing the end of the COVID-19 situation. Seven Chinese companies entered the top 10 list, with China Baowu Group ranking first.

China Hegang Group (43.76 million tons) and Shagang Group (41.59 million tons) ranked third and fourth respectively, followed by Ansteel Group (38.19 million tons), Jianlong Group (36.47 million tons), Shougang Group (34 million tons), and Shandong Iron and Steel Group (31.11 million tons).

In 2020, the global crude steel production reached 1.878 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%. China accounts for 56.7% of the total production, with a production of 1.0648 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Next are India (100.3 million tons), Japan (83.2 million tons), the United States (72.7 million tons), and Russia (71.6 million tons). South Korea maintains sixth place with a total production of 67.1 million tons.