China’s demand for automotive steel is forecast to drop by 2pc to 51mn mt in 2020, while demand from home appliance industry is expected to rise by 3pc from the prior year, according to the China Iron and Steel Industry Association (CISA).
Steel demand from China’s automotive industry is expected to fall following a drop in domestic auto sales in 2019. In China, 25.8mn vehicles were sold during the last year, which is an 8.2pc decline from 2018.
In other sectors, steel demand from China’s shipbuilding industry is forecast to drop by 6pc to 15mn mt in 2020 compared to the prior year. Demand from home appliance industry is expected to be at about 14mn mt in 2020, a decline of 3pc from the prior year. Steel demand from container manufacturers is expected to continue their downward trend by a 2pc decline to 5.1mn mt from the prior year.