World consumption of steel products will approach record levels in 1995 despite massive downturns in the restructuring economies of eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Speaking at the 28th annual conference of the International Iron and Steel Institute at Colorado Springs in the U.S., the institute’s secretary general, Lenhard Holschuh, said global demand for steel would rise by 2.3% this year and an additional 3.4% in 1995. He added that world consumption would rise to 650 million tonnes next year, close to the 1989 record of 660 million tonnes. Excluding China and the CIS, demand for steel products will increase by 6% worldwide this year, Holschuh said.
By the year 2000, steel consumption could rise to 750 million tonnes, representing an average annual growth rate of 2.8% (compared with about 2% annually during the past two decades), he said.
Demand in Latin America and Asia is fueling the growth. It is estimated that about half of the steel consumed in 2000 will be used in Asia, including China and Japan.
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