India, a top spot for global steel output says report

New Delhi: India is seen as a "bright spot" for the global steel production growth on account of the government's push to augment capacity and demand from the construction, automotive and infra sectors, says a report.

The firms like SAIL and Tata Steel are expected to drive the steel output growth, according to the report by BMI Research, a Fitch group company. "The government has been spearheading the push towards the boost in steel production capacity, with upgrades being made to existing steel mills and state-owned companies stepping in to build new steel plants," it said. "India will be the global steel production growth bright spot as demand from the construction, automotive and infrastructure industries continues to accelerate," it added.

Key companies, it said, that will drive growth are Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Tata Steel, the latter which aims to boost sales in the automotive segment with the migration of production towards higher-end steel products. For instance, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics, in 2016, India's steel output grew by 7.4 per cent y-o-y.

"We forecast India's steel output to average annual growth of 8.9 per cent during 2017-2021, higher than 2.9 per cent during 2012-2016," the report said.

India's steel output will grow from 88.4 million tonnes (MT) in 2017 to 128.6 MT by 2021, it added. The country's share of global steel production will accelerate from 5.4 per cent in 2017 to 7.7 per cent in 2021, it added.