At the recent 73rd Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Steel Committee meeting held in Paris, participants from OECD and non-OECD economies discussed the slow growth of global steel consumption observed in 2012 and expectations of moderate improvement for 2013.
Laurent Daniel from the OECD Secretariat pointed out that the global steel market has been slowing down since the third quarter of 2011, with steel consumption growth decreasing to two percent in the third quarter of 2012 from nine percent in the same quarter of 2011, while crude steel production growth remained flat.
Nae Hee Han from the World Steel Association underlined that global steel growth has slowed down due to the euro crisis and the slowdown in the Chinese economy, though a modest recovery is expected in 2013, with the medium-term outlook remaining positive.
Regarding the current situation in the European steel market, Karl Tachelet of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) stated that buyers remain extremely cautious while EU mills have responded by cutting output. However, Turkish Iron and Steel Producers Association (DCUD) general secretary Dr. Veysel Yayan said that capacity expansions at existing facilities and new capacity investments in the Turkish steel industry will contribute to steel production growth in the long term.
Kevin Dempsey from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Ron Watkins, president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, indicated that NAFTA steel demand remains below pre-recession levels, with capacity utilization moving downward since April 2012. Meanwhile, Murilo Furtado from the Latin American Steel Association (ALACERO) said that the regional industry outlook is threatened by China's growing presence in trade.
Regarding the steel industry outlook in Asia, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) foresees that steel market demand will slowly come back and it expects steel prices to stabilize but they are unlikely to recover to normal levels. On the other hand, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation indicated that the global slowdown is no exception for Asian economies, while it expressed concerns about the continued build up in steelmaking capacity.