Chi Jingdong, vice secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), has stated during the 16th International Steel Market and Trade Conference held in Xi'an that in 2017 steel demand from downstream industries in China, namely, the construction industry, the machinery industry, the auto industry, the home appliance industry, the railway industry, the container industry and the energy industry rose by 2.3 percent, 5.6 percent, 5.3 percent, 5.3 percent, 8.7 percent, 22.9 percent and 1.8 percent year on year, respectively, while steel demand from the domestic shipbuilding industry decreased by 17.4 percent year on year in the given year, resulting in an aggregate overall rise of 2.6 percent year on year in steel demand from Chinese downstream industries. Mr. Chi said it is expected that in 2018 steel demand from Chinese downstream industries, namely, construction, machinery, auto, home appliance, railway, container and energy will increase by 0.5 percent, 0.8 percent, 1.7 percent, 5.0 percent, 3.9 percent, 4.7 percent and 3.6 percent year on year, respectively, though steel demand from the shipbuilding industry is expected to decrease by 5.3 percent year on year, which will result in an aggregate overall rise of 0.8 percent year on year in steel demand from Chinese downstream industries in 2018.
Mr. Chi said that China’s apparent consumption of crude steel amounted to 760 million mt in 2013, 740 million mt in 2014, 710 million mt in 2016 and 760 million mt in 2017, entering into a "peak platform zone". As for the coming five to ten years, he said China’s apparent consumption of crude steel will be in the range of 650-750 million mt.