2017 Taiwan Industrial Outlook- Metal Material

According to the latest data published by the World Steel Association in April 2017, the global steel apparent consumption was 1.515 billion metric tons in 2016, up 1.0% over 2015, and the figure is expected to increase by 1.3% to 1.535 billion metric tons in 2017. The consumption volume will continue to grow by 0.9% to 1.548 billion metric tons in 2018. Since 2016, the global steel industry has taken a turn for the better; however, with the rise of populism and protectionism, there are also greater market uncertainties. As the largest exporter worldwide, Mainland China recorded a total export volume of 107.5 million tons in 2016, which accounted for one-third of the global steel exports. The United States and the EU are the major steel importers, who take up 30% of the steel import volume worldwide. The world’s major net exporting markets (export volume minus import volume) for steel are: mainland China (94.5 million tons), CIS (42.4 million tons) and Japan (34.5 million tons). The major net importing markets are other Asian countries (68.2 million tons), Middle East and Africa (49.8 million tons) and North America (32.0 million tons).