Steel consumption in the ASEAN region (based on demand in six major countries) will increase by 4.8% mom to 76.1 million tons in 2022, due to a recovery in the construction and automotive sectors, and reach pre-pandemic levels of 81 million tons in 2023.
Among them, Malaysia’s demand will increase by 0.8 million tons or 11.4% to 7.8 million tons in 2022 after increasing by 200,000 tons in 2021.
Steel consumption in Thailand is expected to increase by 3.7% to 19.45 million tons in 2022, while demand in 2023 is expected to exceed 20 million tons.
Indonesia’s consumption will reach 16.03 million tons, an increase of 0.8% year-on-year.
The main reason for the growth in steel use in the ASEAN region is the recovery in the construction and automotive industries. In particular, construction activity in the region is expected to grow by 5.3% year-on-year in 2022 due to increased investment in infrastructure. Meanwhile, vehicle production in the ASEAN region will increase by 16.6% from last year.