According to the short range outlook of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) for 2013 and 2014, worldsteel Economics Committee revised down its global apparent steel consumption growth forecast to 2.9 percent from its October 2012 forecast of 3.2 percent, with global apparent steel consumption expected to reach 1.454 billion mt in 2013. In 2014, world steel demand is expected to increase by 3.2 percent, amounting to 1.5 billion mt, according to worldsteel forecasts.
Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee, said, "2012 was a challenging year for the steel industry with apparent steel use increasing at the slowest rate since 2009 when demand declined by 6.5 percent. This was mainly due to the euro zone crisis which persisted throughout 2012 and whose impact was felt further afield."
Kerkhoff went on to say that a recovery in global steel demand is expected by the second half of 2013, led by the emerging economies, following the stabilization of the euro zone crisis, the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the US fiscal cliff crisis. In 2014, worldsteel expects a further pickup in global steel demand with the developed economies increasingly contributing to growth.