Strong demand, continued growth in ASEAN steel consumption

According to statistics released by the Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Association, due to strong growth in the manufacturing and construction industries, the apparent consumption of ASEAN steel exceeded 50 million tons for the first time in 2011. The apparent consumption of ASEAN steel, including six major economies including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, totaled 50.5 million tons, an increase of 4% year-on-year. Last year, steel consumption in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines continued to grow.

Per capita steel consumption generally increases with the growth of the overall economy. The growth of the ASEAN economy means that there is still much room for growth in the ASEAN steel market. According to the Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Association, it is expected that, with the strong economic growth, the ASEAN steel consumption will maintain a growth rate of 7%-8% in 2012.

The ASEAN countries with great growth potential have become important export destinations for China's steel products. At the international symposium held last year, representatives from ASEAN became an extremely important factor in promoting trade exchanges at the venue. According to relevant analysts, the average annual growth rate of steel demand in the ASEAN countries is estimated at 6% in the next few years. The countries with continuous growth in market demand are Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Among them, Vietnam has the fastest growth in steel consumption.

The data shows that in the next five years, the steel consumption structure in Southeast Asia will also have a significant change. Due to the increase in the production of local automobiles and household appliances, the proportion of consumption of sheet metal will increase. From the perspective of the types of steel, the share of HRC consumption in Southeast Asia will decrease from 44.1% to 36.8%, while that of coated plates will increase from 17.3% to 24.1%. The average annual demand growth of coated panels including galvanized sheets, color coated sheets and other coated sheets will reach 9.1%, while the increase in hot rolled coils during the same period will be 4.9%.

At the same time, ASEAN hopes to share the successful experience of the Chinese steel industry, and through joint seminars, professional technical training, etc., to strengthen the technical capabilities of ASEAN steel companies in product R&D, green manufacturing, and production operations.