INTEGRATED
STEELMAKERS TO TAKE LARGER SHARE OF OUTPUT IN THE FUTURE
MEPS (International) LTD forecasts that
world output will increase for the two main categories of steel
manufacturing in its updated report "Global
Iron & Steel Production to 2008". However, oxygen
steelmaking will take a greater percentage of the total in 2008.
Whilst electric and other processes will continue to slip.
Oxygen steelmaking is forecast to take
almost 65 percent of the world's supply in 2008 - up from 63.3
percent in 2003. This represents an increase of almost 142 million
tonnes in the five year time span - to 752.3 million tonnes. MEPS
states that most of the new capacity planned for the near term uses
the blast furnace/converter route because it best suits the local
facilities in many of the expanding steel manufacturing countries -
particularly in Asia, former USSR and Brazil.
Global and electric melting will rise in
the period to 2008 by approximately 50 million tonnes but this will
still represent a decrease in the proportion of the world total from
around 33 percent in 2003 to below 32 percent in 2008 says MEPS.
Many of the countries which are expected to grow their steelmaking
have a shortage of electricity to meet current domestic power
requirements.
Steelmaking by other processes is likely to
decline marginally and therefore, the world percentage will fall
from 3.7 to 3.3 percent over the five years, to 2008. Several of the
obsolescent plants in this category will be replaced by new
facilities.
World Steel Making by Process
(million
tonnes)
Region
Oxygen
Electric
Other
2002
2003
2008
2002
2003
2008
2002
2003
2008
European
Union 25
111.3
113.9
121.5
69.2
69.5
76.1
0.5
0.5
0
European
Union 15
93.5
95.1
101.3
65.1
65.1
70.6
0
0
0
Other Europe
11.4
12.2
14.7
15
16.2
20.7
0
0
0
Former USSR
58.2
61.2
69.2
12.7
13.4
15.2
30
31.9
35.7
NAFTA
61.1
60.3
68.5
62.8
62.5
71.3
0
0
0
South America
26.8
28.5
34.4
13.9
14.5
17.1
0
0
0
Africa
7
7.2
7.9
8.8
9.1
10.3
0
0
0
Middle East
2.1
2.3
2.9
10.3
11.1
15
0
0
0
PR China
152
184.1
285.4
30.3
36.8
52.5
0
0
0
Japan
79.3
81.3
82.9
28.5
29.2
29.7
0
0
0
Other Asia
50.5
52.9
57.9
51.7
55.1
60.1
1.8
2
2.2
Oceania
6.7
6.7
7
1.6
1.6
1.6
0
0
0
WORLD
TOTAL
566.5
610.6
752.3
304.8
319
369.6
32.2
34.4
37.9
Totals
may not be arithmetically correct because of rounding
