China’s steel consumption not to reach top before 2010

China’s steel consumption not to reach top before 2010

China’s annual steel consumption volume is not expected to peak before 2010 despite country’s iron and steel production and consumption showed a sharp increase in the last two years. China’s steel consumption has increased by more than 3’000 tons annually since 2001, according to statistics released by the China Iron and Steel Association. The reason for the steel consumption not to peak before 2010 is China’s industrialization process and rapid economic growth. Certain industrialized countries such as US, Japan, Britain and France hit peak steel consumption when their urbanization ratio reached 65% or even 90% and their per capita steel output and steel consumption were at least 500 kg and 468 kg, respectively. On the other hand, China’s urbanization ratio was only 37.7% in 2001 and per capita steel output and consumption were both recorded as about 140 kg in 2002. Per capita steel consumption is expected to reach 181 kg by 2010. Experts forecast that China’s actual steel demand will reach 250 million tons in 2005 and about 310 million tons by 2010. However, experts also warned that the iron and steel industry should avoid over-competition to maintain a healthy market.