Global direct reduced iron (DRI) production in 2021 was 119.2 million tons (Mt), up by 13.7% from the revised 104.8 Mt produced in 2020, and up 10.2% from the previous record of 108.1 Mt in 2019. From 2016, worldwide DRI output has grown by almost 44.4 Mt, or nearly 61%.

MIDREX Plants produced 70.85 Mt in 2021, a 12.3% increase compared to 2020. MIDREX Technology continued to account for ~80% of worldwide production of DRI by shaft furnaces. MIDREX Plants have produced a cumulative total of approximately 1,250 Mt of all forms of DRI (CDRI, HDRI, and HBI) through the end of 2021.

Each year Midrex Technologies, Inc. compiles and publishes World Direct Reduction Statistics as a resource for the global iron and steel industry. World Steel Dynamics (WSD) audits the data collection and preparation  processes used by Midrex to confirm that the methodology and accuracy of the data to be published is representative of the global direct reduction industry in a given year.