Flat Steel Market Forecasts to 2028 - Global Analysis By Product, By Process, By Type, By End User and By Geography

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Flat Steel Market is accounted for $543.81 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $853.41 billion by 2028 growing at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period. In order to produce sheets, plates, structural beams, and strips, flat steel is rolled from slabs of steel. These products can be used in an array of industries due to their special qualities, primarily in the building, transportation, and electrical appliance sectors. The product has a record for improving final products' reliability, durability, consistency, and quality while lowering waste. It improves the functionality of end-user products and aids in enhancing processing efficiency, product shelf life, and yield.

According to the World Steel Association, building operations account for about 28% of the world's carbon emissions.

Market Dynamics:

Driver:

Rise in demand for flat steel from the construction industry

The main factors driving the expansion of the construction business include the rising population, urbanization, and nuclearization of the population. For roofing, stairs, sheds, and welded structure applications, this business uses flat steel as a structural support and construction frame. Multiple-home ownership is becoming increasingly popular, the middle class is growing increasingly wealthy, and houses are being renovated or redeveloped, which are driving factors in the construction industry and driving up demand.

Restraint:

Fluctuation in steel prices

In addition to the raw materials for steel, such as iron, coal, and scrap steel, steel is a commodity that frequently suffers price changes. Due to the influence of supply and demand rules, these raw material costs are highly volatile. Production costs also affect prices and storage capacity. The price of flat steel directly depends on steel, and these price fluctuations have an impact on the cost of steel making. Thus, fluctuations in the price of steel have an impact on the cost of the finished product. Furthermore, over the years, significant geopolitical events, a rise or decline in demand, and steel price increases have restricted market expansion.

Opportunity:

Rapid inclusion of steel in the automotive industry

Steel is being substituted with aluminum and composite materials in the automotive sector due to several factors that aim to increase profit margins. Nevertheless, steel is used to make the major components of vehicle bodies, such as the vehicle frames and guards. This makes the automotive industry, which consumes up to 10% of all steel produced globally, one of the major markets for flat steel products. Moreover, auto parts that need superior surface finishing and impact resistance are selling effectively. These elements increase the demand for flat steel, which provides fresh market expansion opportunities.

Threat:

High cost

The price of steel varies constantly, similar to the price of iron, coal, and scrap steel. Because of the dominance of market forces and laws, raw material prices tend to be variable. Prices and storage space are also impacted by operating costs. Flat steel pricing is entirely reliant on steel, and changes in the price of steel have an impact on the value of steel production. As a result, the final selling prices are impacted by changes in steel pricing. In addition, significant worldwide trends, changes in demand, and rapid price increases for steel have reduced overall growth.

Covid-19 Impact:

The COVID-19 outbreak and government regulations that caused a disruption in the steel industry had a substantial impact on the market. Due to containment measures, disruptions in the supply chain, and a suspension of consumption activities brought on by this pandemic, steel production remained halted, leading to machinery closures, a shortage of raw materials, factory closures, and a severe labor shortage. The suspension of mining operations as a result of the worldwide lockdown has also impacted the supply of iron ore and scrap iron. This factor had an impact on the manufacturing businesses and decreased the availability of raw materials, distribution operations, and material transportation.

The hot-rolled coil segment is expected to be the largest during the forecast period

With rising demand from construction, agricultural equipment, pipe-making, and machinery applications, the hot-rolled coil (HRC) segment is anticipated to sustain its dominance during the projected period. This product has features that are temperature-resistant, formable, robust, and durable. Furthermore, significant technological advancement in HRC along with an increase in its popularity for applications that do not require a lot of shape change or force would fuel the segment's development.

The building & infrastructure segment is expected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The rising population, urbanization, and the accelerating tendency of nuclearization of the populace are the main forces behind the sector's progress, and the Building & Infrastructure segment is anticipated to have the highest CAGR over the projection period. Mild steel flat bar, particularly black mild steel flat bar, is frequently used in building project frames for structural stability and applications such as roofing, stairs, sheds, and welded framework. Moreover, building and infrastructure are driven by the rise in multi-home ownership, rising middle-class affluence, and home renovations or refurbishments, which support market growth.

Region with largest share:

Over the forecast period, Asia Pacific is anticipated to hold the largest share as steel technology development and expanding industrialization are projected to drive market expansion in the Asia Pacific region. Rising steel output, expanding R&D efforts, and increasing expansion of the construction industry are projected to fuel demand for the product in China, where it currently maintains a substantial share of the market.

Region with highest CAGR:

Due to the region's growing automotive sector, North America will experience rapid growth during the projection period. The product's improved strength and temperature resistance may open up lucrative potential for CRC in North American engineering and electronics applications. Due to the widespread usage of oil and gas tubing and government initiatives, North America is the world leader in the flat steel industry. Due to the expansion of industrial facilities and production capacity by several businesses, the region will also experience significant market growth in the years to come, which will support the expansion of construction activities there.

Key Players in the market

Some of the key players in Flat Steel market include NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION , Ezz Steel, ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, HBIS Group, POSCO, Voestalpine Group, Yieh Corp., Hyundai Steel, Jianlong Group, ChinaSteel, Maanshan Iron & Steel Company Limited, JFE Steel Corporation, ShaabanSteel and Albawardi Steel Industries.

Key Developments:

In March 2021, ArcelorMittal launched Xcarb, an initiative to reduce CO2 emissions during steel manufacturing while focusing on achieving demonstrable progress toward carbon-neutral steel. In flat product operations, the company invested in a broad range of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from the blast furnace.

In October 2020, ArcelorMittal Europe announced a CO2 technology strategy to produce the first green steel solutions for customers. With this initiative, the company aims to deliver its 30% CO2 emissions target by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. Also, the company is implementing projects in almost all of its flat product sites to use gases from different sources for blast furnace injection to reduce CO2 emissions.

Products Covered:

• Slabs
• Hot-Rolled Coil
• Cold-Rolled Coil
• Coated Steel
• Carbon steel
• Stainless steel
• Alloy steel
• Tool
• Other Products

Process Covered:

• Electric Arc Furnace
• Basic Oxygen Furnace
• Other Processes

Types Covered:

• Plates
• Sheets & Strips
• Other Types

End Users Covered:

• Building & Infrastructure
• Automotive & Transportation
• Mechanical Equipment
• Machinery
• Consumer Goods & Appliances
• Electronics
• Oil & Gas
• Energy
• Agricultural Equipment
• Gas Containers
• Other End Users

Regions Covered:

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• South America
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Rest of South America
• Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Qatar
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa

What our report offers:

• Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments
• Strategic recommendations for the new entrants
• Covers Market data for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025, and 2028
• Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)
• Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations
• Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends
• Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments
• Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

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All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options:

• Company Profiling
  • Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3)
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• Regional Segmentation
  • Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the client's interest (Note: Depends on feasibility check)
• Competitive Benchmarking

Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances