The global materials market contracted in 2024, as metals and mining revenues fell by 6% to approximately $3 trillion, McKinsey’s Global Materials Perspective 2025 shows. The consultancy noted profitability remained resilient, with stronger cash positions and sustained productivity gains, even as the sector faced a more complex and fragmented global environment.
The study shows increasing resource nationalism and protectionism, the rise of new demand vectors from AI and defense, emerging signs of a productive rebound, and the slowdown of decarbonization in selected regions, the firm noted.
