India to Outpace Major Steel-Consuming Economies In 2025

14 Jan 2025 CW Team

India will continue to outpace other major steel-consuming economies in calendar year 2025 with a demand growth of 8-9 per cent, CRISIL's Market Intelligence and Analytics report said. This demand will be driven by a shift towards steel-intensive construction in the housing and infrastructure sectors along with better demand from engineering, packaging and other segments, the report added. The report, however, highlights that the domestic supply will remain a "point of concern," adding that the demand is estimated to have increased by 11 per cent in India. Competitive imports and a decline in exports also played a role in weaker production growth in 2024. While finished steel imports increased by 24.5 per cent, exports declined by 6.4 per cent, leading to additional availability of 3.2 million tonnes of finished steel apart from domestic production. This additional material availability accounted for 2 per cent of the total finished steel demand. The report added that the finished steel imports from all key exporters to India have increased significantly in the past few years. For instance, China has traditionally been an exporter of value-added products and speciality steel such as galvanised and coated steel, alloy steel and stainless steel to India, with a minimal share of hot-rolled coils and strips (HRC) and cold-rolled coils and strips (CRC). However, between 2022 and 2024, while finished steel imports from China increased 2.4-fold, imports of HRC jumped 28-fold. Notably, HRC is used as feed material to produce various value-added downstream products, and these imports are often at a discount to domestic HRC prices, creating price pressure on domestic steel. Similarly, the overall finished steel import from Japan increased 2.8-fold in 2024 from the base of 2022, while HRC imports increased 16.6-fold. Finished steel imports from Vietnam increased 8-fold, while HRC imports jumped 27-fold. Import growth from South Korea was relatively modest, bringing down its share in India's finished steel import basket. Domestic steel prices, meanwhile, declined in 2024, impacted by additional material availability due to an increase in net imports. HRC prices declined 9 per cent, and CRC prices declined 7 per cent, thereby slowing the topline growth of domestic mills. Nevertheless, low volatility and declining coking coal prices have helped to lessen margin pressure to some extent, as per the report. While iron ore prices are predicted to have risen by 9-10 percent during the period, the spot price of coking coal for the Premium Low Volatility grade, which is of Australian origin, fell by 12 percent in 2024. Notably, the price of China HRC exports fell by 12 percent in 2024 and continues to be lower than the price of domestic mills. The report added that the imposition of a safeguard duty proposed by the industry could be a positive and if implemented, steel prices in 2025 would be much higher than 2024, with the impact more prominent in the first half.

India will continue to outpace other major steel-consuming economies in calendar year 2025 with a demand growth of 8-9 per cent, CRISIL's Market Intelligence and Analytics report said. This demand will be driven by a shift towards steel-intensive construction in the housing and infrastructure sectors along with better demand from engineering, packaging and other segments, the report added. The report, however, highlights that the domestic supply will remain a point of concern, adding that the demand is estimated to have increased by 11 per cent in India. Competitive imports and a decline in exports also played a role in weaker production growth in 2024. While finished steel imports increased by 24.5 per cent, exports declined by 6.4 per cent, leading to additional availability of 3.2 million tonnes of finished steel apart from domestic production. This additional material availability accounted for 2 per cent of the total finished steel demand. The report added that the finished steel imports from all key exporters to India have increased significantly in the past few years. For instance, China has traditionally been an exporter of value-added products and speciality steel such as galvanised and coated steel, alloy steel and stainless steel to India, with a minimal share of hot-rolled coils and strips (HRC) and cold-rolled coils and strips (CRC). However, between 2022 and 2024, while finished steel imports from China increased 2.4-fold, imports of HRC jumped 28-fold. Notably, HRC is used as feed material to produce various value-added downstream products, and these imports are often at a discount to domestic HRC prices, creating price pressure on domestic steel. Similarly, the overall finished steel import from Japan increased 2.8-fold in 2024 from the base of 2022, while HRC imports increased 16.6-fold. Finished steel imports from Vietnam increased 8-fold, while HRC imports jumped 27-fold. Import growth from South Korea was relatively modest, bringing down its share in India's finished steel import basket. Domestic steel prices, meanwhile, declined in 2024, impacted by additional material availability due to an increase in net imports. HRC prices declined 9 per cent, and CRC prices declined 7 per cent, thereby slowing the topline growth of domestic mills. Nevertheless, low volatility and declining coking coal prices have helped to lessen margin pressure to some extent, as per the report. While iron ore prices are predicted to have risen by 9-10 percent during the period, the spot price of coking coal for the Premium Low Volatility grade, which is of Australian origin, fell by 12 percent in 2024. Notably, the price of China HRC exports fell by 12 percent in 2024 and continues to be lower than the price of domestic mills. The report added that the imposition of a safeguard duty proposed by the industry could be a positive and if implemented, steel prices in 2025 would be much higher than 2024, with the impact more prominent in the first half.

Infrastructure Urban

04 May 2026

Jyoti Structures FY26 profit rises 56.5%

Jyoti Structures (JSL) recently reported strong financial results for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2026, driven by disciplined execution, cost management and steady progress across its order book.For Q4 FY2025-26, total income rose 44.2 per cent to Rs 2.41 billion from Rs 1.67 billion in Q4 FY2024-25. EBITDA increased 58.6 per cent to Rs 237 million, while EBITDA margin improved by 89 basis points to 9.84 per cent. Profit before tax grew 53.3 per cent to Rs 188.5 million, and net profit rose 51.9 per cent to Rs 181.4 million.For FY2025-26, total income grew 53.1 per cent to Rs 7.72 bill..

Infrastructure Energy

04 May 2026

Cat BEPU to Power Doppstadt Separator at IFAT 2026

Caterpillar’s Cat Battery Electric Power Unit (BEPU) has been selected by Doppstadt to power its SWS 6 Spiral Shaft Separator, which will be showcased for the first time at IFAT 2026 in Munich, Germany, from 4–7 May.The compact plug-and-play BEPU is designed to replace a diesel engine within the same space, using the same mounting locations and relative machine position. It integrates the battery, motor, inverter, onboard charging, cooling and controls, enabling OEMs to electrify existing chassis platforms without extensive redesign.Caterpillar and Cat dealer Zeppelin Power Systems have be..

Infrastructure Urban

04 May 2026

VECV sales rise 6.9% in April 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, recorded sales of 7,318 units in April 2026, compared to 6,846 units in April 2025, registering 6.9 per cent growth. The total included 7,159 units under the Eicher brand and 159 units under the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,159 units during the month, up 6.6 per cent from 6,717 units in April 2025. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 8.6 per cent to 6,797 units from 6,257 units a year earlier.Exports declined 21.3 per cent, with VECV recording 362 units in ..