The steel and aluminum industry will grow modestly over the next 3-5 years according to the respondents of an annual survey on the two industries by investment firm Headwall Partners.
In North America, 79pc of the respondents believed they would see modest growth in steel demand while 67pc believed aluminum demand would rise moderately over the next five years, the survey, published on Mar 16, indicated.
The North American steel industry saw no real change in steel imports during the period under review, while most of the aluminum industry participants from the region believed aluminum imports would remain stable. Additionally, 54pc of the respondents believed that the Biden administration would remove the Section 232 tariffs within a year.
Capacity additions in the North American steel industry are also likely to not impact companies, the survey revealed with 48pc of the respondents saying their company’s operations would see little or no impact from capacity expansion.
Moreover, the survey noted that 55pc of the respondents expected a 9pc or more rise in revenue this year compared to 2020, though Headwall attributed the high growth-expectation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
In terms of where they see additional demand, 73pc of the respondents said that they anticipated the Biden administration to implement considerable infrastructure projects and spending over the next four years, and 61pc believing that these initiatives would positively impact the growth of their company.