On May 20, 2025, the latest data from the World Steel Association showed that driven by global infrastructure expansion and new energy industries, the international steel market showed structural growth, and annual demand is expected to exceed 1.9 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%. The Asian, European and North American markets have become the core driving forces. China's "new infrastructure" projects and India's industrialization process have accelerated the demand for construction steel; the EU's new energy grid and the upgrade of the US Infrastructure Act have driven the import volume of high-end steel.

Diversified application scenarios, low-carbon steel becomes the focus of competition

Currently, the demand for steel is tilted towards high value-added areas. New energy scenarios such as wind power and photovoltaic brackets have led to a surge in the consumption of weathering steel and high-strength steel; the lightweight trend of electric vehicles has promoted the iteration of automotive steel technology, and the demand for thin plates and silicon steel sheets has increased by 15%. At the same time, the global carbon neutrality goal has forced the industry to transform. Many European automakers have announced that they will give priority to purchasing low-carbon electric arc furnace steel. Some leading companies have accelerated the layout of hydrogen metallurgical technology to seize the green steel market share.

Supply chain reshaping, regional characteristics highlighted

Affected by geopolitics, the regionalization trend of steel trade has intensified. Southeast Asia has taken over the transfer of mid-range production capacity with its low-cost advantage, and Turkey and the Middle East have expanded exports to Europe with their geographical advantages. Analysts pointed out that the future steel market will present a pattern of "demand stratification and technology winning", and intelligent production and circular economy models may become the key to breaking the deadlock.