CRU: Middle East conflict puts merchant slab supply at risk

This item was first published by CRU. To learn about CRU’s global commodities research and analysis services, visit www.crugroup.com.

The merchant slab market totaled around 25 million metric tons in 2025. Russia, Brazil and Iran were the top three exporters, while the main importers were Mexico, Turkey and the USA. Over the past few years, the slab market has changed significantly – Iran filled the position previously occupied by Ukraine before the war, Brazilian merchant slab supply fell, and the introduction of CBAM drew more interest into slab imports to the EU.