Ferrous metallurgy is concentrated in Cherepovets.
People used to work with metal here since long ago. One of the first metalworking enterprises in the city was the iron-cutting plant of Cherepovets merchant Krasil'nikov. 271276 Severstal is the biggest industrial enterprise in the Vologda oblast and the biggest producer of rolled stock in Russia. The industry exports nut coal, used in casting and non-ferrous metallurgy, as well as ammonium sulphate as a nitric fertiliser. The metallurgical plant has five blast furnaces, including the world's largest 5.500 cu m blast furnace.