World Steel Association: forecasts global steel demand growth of 5.8% in 2021
Global steel demand will grow 5.8 percent to 1.874 billion tons in 2021 after falling 0.2 percent in 2020, the World Iron and Steel Association (WISA) said in its latest short-term steel demand forecast for 2021-2022 released Thursday, according to the association's official website. In 2022, global steel demand will continue to grow by 2.7 percent to reach 1.925 billion tons.
The second or third wave, which is still ongoing, will flatten out in the second quarter of this year and economic activity in major steel consuming countries will gradually return to normal as vaccination continues steadily, the report said.
Commenting on the forecast, Al Remithi, chairman of the WIRA Market Research Committee, said: "While the COVID-19 situation has had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods, the global steel industry has been fortunate to see only a small contraction in global steel demand by the end of 2020. That was largely thanks to China's surprisingly strong recovery, which pushed steel demand there up 9.1 per cent compared with a 10.0 per cent contraction in the rest of the world. Steel demand is set to recover steadily in the coming years in both developed and developing economies, supported by pent-up steel demand and government recovery plans. For some of the most advanced economies, however, it will take years to recover to pre-epidemic levels.
As for the steel construction industry, the report says different sectors of the construction industry will see different trends as a result of the outbreak. With telecommuting and e-commerce on the rise and travel on the decline, demand for commercial buildings and corporate travel facilities will continue to decline. At the same time, there has been an increase in demand for e-commerce logistics facilities and this demand will develop into a growth sector. Infrastructure projects have grown in importance and are sometimes the only means for many countries to revive their economies. In emerging economies, infrastructure projects will continue to be a strong driver. In advanced economies, green recovery projects and infrastructure refurbishment projects will boost construction demand. Global construction is expected to return to 2019 levels by 2022.
Globally, the decline was most pronounced in the automotive sector, which is expected to show a strong recovery in 2021, the report added. The global car industry is expected to recover to its 2019 level by 2022. The global machinery industry has been hit by falling investment in 2020, but at a much lower rate than in 2009. The machinery industry is expected to recover more quickly, but another important factor that will affect the industry is the acceleration of digitization and automation. Investment in this area will drive the growth of the machinery industry. In addition, green projects and investment plans in the renewable energy sector will be another growth area for the machinery industry
