According to a report released by the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI), hot rolled plate demand in ASEAN countries continued to rise significantly in the last two years. In 2012, demand grew by 27 percent compared to 2011 to 4 million mt.
The SEAISI report also reveals that regional hot rolled plate production in ASEAN countries amounted to 1.3 million mt in 2012, declining 2.3 percent year on yaer. Demand was mainly served by imports in 2012, which increased by 2.8 percent over 2011 to 3.5 million mt.
ASEAN countries | Hot rolled plate demand | |
2012 (mt) | Change y-o-y (%) | |
Indonesia | 1,500,000 | 31 |
Thailand | 601,194 | 9 |
Philipinnes | 559,474 | 27 |
Vietnam | 538,000 | 7 |
Malaysia | 441,360 | 4 |
Singapore | 329,054 | -50 |
The SEAISI added that in 2012 most of the demand for hot rolled plate in Indonesia, the largest plate consuming country in the region, came from its construction sector. Around 30-35 percent of Indonesia's hot rolled plate imports went to meet the needs of the expanding shipbuilding sector in the country. The Philippines' demand for hot rolled plate was entirely served by imports. Around 70 percent of imports went to serve the shipbuilding industry and the balance served the construction sector. Around 60 percent of Vietnam's plate imports were supplied to its construction sector and the rest to its shipbuilding sector. In Malaysia, domestic output declined significantly by 23 percent in 2012 to 151,871 mt, while imports rose sharply by 16 percent to 331,052 mt, both compared to 2011. Singapore, the largest importer of hot rolled plate in the region, experienced a decline in imports of hot rolled plate, from 1,223,501 mt in 2011 to 955,829 mt in 2012. Meanwhile, the country's exports rose by 5.3 percent year on year to 626,775 mt in 2012.