India has emerged as the world’s third largest steel producing country in Q1 2009, on account of robust domestic demand from automobile and housing sectors.
India has become the world’s third leading steel producer in Q1 2009, while China and Japan are the top two position holders, as reported by RTTNews.
Acording to the estimates of the World Steel Association, India’s steel production in Q1 2009 surged 1.02% to reach 13.17 Million Tonnes as compared to the production in Q1 2008. During the same period, China’s steel output was recorded at nearly 126 Million Tonnes whereas Japan’s output stood at 17.60 Million Tonnes. On the other hand, Russia’s output dipped 33% to 12.88 Million Tonnes and that of the US slumped 53% to reach 12.09 Million Tonnes.
The Ministry of Steel has noted that the demand for commodity in India has been rising, while it is declining worldwide. This shows that the Indian economy still has an enough steel demand. Also, India has remained indifferent to the decline in average per capita steel consumption worldwide.
Indian economy is mainly driven by the domestic consumption, and so it has not been affected much by the decelerating global economic growth in comparison to other countries. The steel industry in India has made a commendable bounce back during Q1 2009 on back of rebound in demand from automobile sector, rural infrastructure and housing sector. This upturn in demand is recorded in a period when the leading steel producing countries of the world are witnessing sharp downturn in their output.
Besides, the revival in the country’s steel output has been supported by the improvement in the sales of the steel companies. Most of the steel giants like Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW and Essar operated at their full capacity during Q4 2008, yet lower steel output in the final quarter was due to the decline in demand as well as production cuts.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Steel manufacturers in India have certainly got affected to some extent by the economic meltdown and have slashed down their production. However, the rising demand will soon enable them to return back to their normal production levels. Moreover, the rapidly recovering automobile sector, which is a leading buyer of steel products, is also a positive sign for the steel industry.”
Related Market Research Reports:
Indian Steel Industry Outlook to 2012
US Steel Industry Outlook
China Aluminium Market Analysis
