IREPAS: Overall long steel consumption grows worldwide, except in Europe

The SteelOrbis Fall 2012 Conference and 67th IREPAS Meeting being held in Munich has featured the presentation of Alexander Gordienko of Celsa Group, who said that he is optimistic for the mid-term market prospects as overall demand for long products is increasing in the world. He went on to state that global consumption of long steel products is showing a stronger pace of growth and so is gaining a bigger share in total steel consumption worldwide, with the Asian markets supporting consistent long-term growth in the long steel markets, while the southern American markets and the MENA countries are also contributing to this growth. Mr. Gordienko stressed that in the first six months of this year long steel consumption recovered everywhere in the world apart from Europe, with the highest growth rates seen in North America and in East and Southeast Asia with 9.90 percent and 9.30 percent increases year on year respectively, while long steel consumption in Europe declined by 8.90 percent in the same period.
 
In his presentation, Mr. Gordienko told attendees that rebar consumption continues to gain a greater share in total long steel consumption due to the increasing demand in developing countries and thanks to construction activity in emerging markets. The Celsa Group executive also remarked that this year rebar production has been balanced against consumption in most areas of the world except in the CIS and Turkey, while it is possible that China will indicate a major imbalance next year, adding that rebar consumption per capita always has potential to grow in developing countries. He also stressed that countries in the CIS and also in South America show good prospects for future growth in terms of rebar consumption.
 
Mr. Gordienko also said that the strength of raw material prices is keeping margins very tight for rebar producers, adding that aggressive pricing in the market puts further pressure on producers' margins.