In its biannual demand forecast, the World Steel Association said it believes steel demand will grow to 1.87 billion tons this year and could increase an additional 2.7% in 2022. 

“Despite the disastrous impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, the global steel industry was fortunate enough to end 2020 with only a minor contraction in steel demand. This was due to a surprisingly robust recovery in China, with growth of 9.1%. In the rest of the world, steel demand contracted by 10.0%,” said Al Remeithi, chairman of the association’s economics committee.

“In the coming years, steel demand will recover firmly, both in the developed and developing economies, supported by pent-up demand and governments’ recovery programs. However, for most developed economies a return to the pre-pandemic levels of steel demand will take a few years.”