Pandemic-hit Southeast Asia's 2020 steel consumption down 6.2%-8.7% - industry group

MANILA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Steel consumption in Southeast
Asia's six biggest economies is estimated to have declined as
much as 8.7% last year due to pandemic-driven lockdowns, and
prospects for a quick rebound remain clouded, an industry group
said on Thursday.
As the economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were hit hard by the global
health crisis, the region's steel consumption likely slumped to
between 73.3 million tonnes and 75.3 million tonnes, according
to the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI).
The estimates are 6.2%-8.7% lower than the 2019 volume, it
said in a report.
Construction activity, traditionally the main driver of
steel demand in the region, was disrupted in Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines. In contrast, Vietnam was able to expand in
the sector, having been able to quickly curb the coronavirus
spread, the group said.
Thailand has also taken immediate action by boldly driving
the demand for construction in the second and third quarters, it
said.
The automotive industry was also a "major victim" among the
region's steel consumers, with the largest producing countries
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia severely hit, while the
manufacturing sector also took heavy blows, it said.
But not all is bad during the economic downturn, as the
region's steel producers opted to boost exports to countries
that had controlled the pandemic and restarted their economies
much earlier, notably China, while domestic demand remains
sluggish.
Southeast Asia's steel exports jumped 27% to 9.3 million
tonnes in the first half of 2020 from a year earlier, according
to SEAISI.
With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, the group said
activity in the region's construction sector and infrastructure
expansion remains limited.
"With collapsing domestic demand for steel, steel industries
are facing the urgent need for new market opportunities outside
the region to withstand the economic downturn," the group said.