Domestic finished steel consumption grows 13% in FY24

The consumption of domestic finished steel saw an increase of 13 per cent, to scale a figure of 136 million tonnes during 2023-24, or the fiscal year 2024 (FY24).

Data released by the steel research company SteelMint India in its new report added that the growth is mainly thanks to increasing demand for finished steel in the construction and infrastructure sectors as well as the automotive industry including electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers.

“Demand from the automotive industry improved in FY24, along with focus increasing towards the EVs. Infrastructure and construction sectors also showed resilience with investments, mostly supported by government-funded development projects,” SteelMint said.

Overall, the consumption of finished steel in India during the previous fiscal year, 2022-23 (FY23), stood at 120 million tonnes (MT), the SteelMint report said, adding that the production of crude steel saw a 12.6 per cent growth, increasing to 143 MT from 127 MT in the previous fiscal year.

The SteelMint data reports that consumption patterns for finished steel in India during January, February and March 2024, or the first quarter of the year, reveal a six per cent growth, from 31 MT in FY23 to 33 MT in FY24.

There was a rise in production of crude steel, too, during the first quarter of the current year. Crude steel production saw an increase of 12.1 per cent and stood at 37 MT in January, February and March 2024, which is more than the 33 MT figure that was recorded in the same quarter last year.

Overall, the upward growth in numbers is important because the government currently aims at increasing the country’s annual steel manufacturing capacity under the National Steel Policy to 300 MT. The Policy also aims to achieve a per capita growth in steel consumption to 160 kg by the year 2030.