World Steel Association lowers global steel usage forecasts for 2014 and 2015

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): The World Steel Association has lowered its global steel usage forecasts for 2014 and 2015.

The report forecasts global apparent steel use to grow by 2% to 1,562 Mt in 2014. Also, the apparent steel usage will grow by another 2% in 2015 to reach 1,594 Mt. The association had earlier predicted 3% growth to world steel demand during 2014 in its report published in April this year. The April ’14 report had forecast 3.2% growth in 2015.

The apparent steel use in China is likely to total 748.3 million tonnes in 2014. The steel demand is expected to drop to 1%. The Association predicts a slowdown of 0.8% in steel use growth in 2015. The Chinese steel usage may total 754.3 million during next year.

On the other hand, India’s steel demand is expected to increase by 3.4% in 2014 to 76.2 million tonnes. The Association cites general improvement in business sentiments in the country in anticipation of economic recovery during the years to come. The steel usage growth is expected to grow by 6% in 2015.

The steel demand in the US is likely to grow by 6.7% in 2014 to 102.2 million tonnes. Furthermore, the demand is expected to post growth of 1.9% in 2015. Meantime, Central and South America may see a decline of 2.4% to 48 million tonnes in 2014. However, it expects a turnaround growth of 3.4% in 2015.

The EU region’s steel demand growth is pegged at 4% in 2014 to 145.9 million tonnes. The demand is likely to grow further by 2.9% in 2015.

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine will lead to sharp decline in steel usage in the CIS region. The steel use by the region is expected to fall by 3.8% in 2014 to 56.9 million tonnes.

The political unrests in the Middle East and North African region may have huge impact on region’s steel demand. However, demand is expected to grow at 3.3% to 67.6 million tonnes in 2014.