The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) has said that world steel demand is expected to rise 8.9 percent year on year from 1.029 billion metric tons in 2005 to 1.121 billion metric tons in 2006. The IISI also predicted a more moderate forecast of 5 percent growth in steel demand next year to reach 1.179 billion metric tons. “Reflecting on the current year, China and Asia have again dominated the world market for steel,” the IISI said in their statement, adding that increased spending on the infrastructure and construction sectors in India would drive up apparent steel use there by 10 percent this year. However, the largest increase is seen in China, clocking a 14 percent increase in 2006.
Apparent Steel Use Million mts of finished steel Change % year on year 2005 2006e 2007f 05-06 06-07 EU (15) 139.4 150.0 147.7 7.6 -1.5 EU (25) 158.8 171.5 169.6 8.0 -1.1 Other Europe 29.3 32.1 34.0 9.5 6.0 CIS 43.5 46.5 50.9 7.0 9.4 NAFTA 139.7 151.8 150.8 8.7 -0.7 S. America 32.3 36.0 38.6 11.6 7.1 Africa 22.4 24.6 25.7 10.0 4.4 Middle East 34.0 37.3 40.6 9.6 8.9 Japan 78.0 78.6 80.8 0.8 2.8 India 38.1 41.9 45.7 10.0 9.1 Rest of Asia (exc. China) 117.8 118.5 121.8 0.6 2.8 Australia + NZ 7.9 7.8 7.9 -1.6 1.3 World (exc. China) 701.8 746.7 766.4 6.4 2.6 China 327.0 374.0 413.0 14.4 10.4 World 1,028.8 1,120.7 1,179.4 8.9 5.2