Steel Insights provides a free tracking of NAFTA steel demand by market and product. We start each year with our annual forecast and provide monthly actuals during the year updating the full year forecast. In the Tools section users can choose options to search for specific data by year, month, product or market from 1991(a) through 2021(f).
Automotive Market – The global automotive steel market encompasses a diverse mix of steel products, geography, and distribution channels. The products include Ultra-high strength grades and critical surface. Globally, China has become the largest automotive market with India also growing quickly. The channels of distribution include both domestic and imported steel going through steel service centers, warehouses and processors to support both captive and independent stampers, forgers and other downstream manufacturers within NAFTA. We have separated the direct auto market (OEMs ) from the indirect market (Independent part manufacturers and after-market suppliers).
Distribution is defined as that group of companies that receive bulk deliveries from steel manufacturers and warehouse, process and distribute smaller lots to manufacturers in NAFTA. This group of companies is the largest single market for steel leaving the mills. The distributors handle every steel product and receive material from domestic producers and from steel makers around the globe. Their customer base is every steel user from the small welding shop to the largest manufacturers.
Construction is a very broad market that includes all steel mill products from heavy plate and structural to extremely light gauge painted panels for residential roofing and commercial buildings. It includes fasteners (bolts, nuts, screws, nails, etc.), concrete reinforcing rods, culvert pipe, guardrails, HVAC ducts for residential construction and the list goes on. Water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners are considered part of this market.
Pipe and Tube is considered a “converter” market where pipe & tube makers accept mill direct material and convert it to a completely different form that then goes to downstream manufacturers such as Automotive or Construction. Specifications for pipe and tube steel can be very complex combinations of strength, corrosion resistance and tight tolerances, etc.
Energy as a steel market includes electrical, oil and natural gas exploration, production and transportation. A growing sector of the market now includes wind and solar generation. The Energy industry requires an array of steel products and relies on the intermediate suppliers especially Pipe & Tube and Distribution for supply.
Machinery includes both mobile and immobile machines. Mobile machinery includes machinery for moving materials rather than people. An example is mining machinery. Immobile machinery would include conveyors, stamping presses, gantry cranes, etc.
Forgings are a “converter” market that consumes steel mill products such as billets, blooms, bars, etc. and ships a variety of forged products to end markets such as automotive, construction, machinery, transportation equipment and tools.
Agriculture is a market that includes all the logistic steps in getting foodstuffs to market. The agricultural industry consumes a variety of steel mill products to build the specialized machinery for tilling, planting, harvesting and buildings required to house machinery, store grain and support animal husbandry. Agriculture consumes a variety of tubing applications for irrigation and wire products for fencing.
Appliances are consumers of sheet products, many with critical surface requirements, to manufacture refrigerators, ranges, laundry products and small appliances. From mills the appliance makers bring in cold rolled, galvanized and stainless steel. They also use electrical steels in their electric motors.
Coil Coaters are part of the “converter” market. The coil coaters bring in steel coils from the mills and process the material through equipment to coat the strip with paint or a layer of zinc. The finished products are primarily sold to automotive and construction markets.
Strip Conversion is another “converter” market. The strip producers purchase specially grades of hot rolled from the steel mills. The strip makers cold roll the material to very close tolerance and heat treat the material to meet end user specifications for surface and mechanical properties. The strip products are sold to automotive, fasteners and even golf club manufacturers.
Containers is a mix of end products that include tin cans, barrels, drums, pails, refuse containers, roll-offs and shipping containers. It is a customer of steel mills for tin mill products. The other sectors can purchase from both mills and distributors. The final products ship to the packaging industry, construction, and logistics companies.
Transport Equipment is a market made up of railroad equipment, river barges, ships, motorcycles, bicycles, lawn tractors, golf carts, trailers and assorted other vehicles. The steel product mix is eclectic with structural, plates, sheets, strip, tubes, rods and bars all participating. Since it is a fairly small market, the channel s of distribution favors the steel warehouses, service centers and processors.
Other End Users is the vast array of products within NAFTA. The examples are manifold but include furniture, signage, computer chassis, cutlery, instruments, etc. With the mix of end uses the steel mill product mix is just as diverse. Here to, the supply logistics favor steel warehouses, service centers and processors because of the smaller per order volumes.
Total Sectors – The Total Sectors is the total NAFTA volume for all end users combined.