The high strength steel market is projected to grow from USD 18.67 billion in 2018 to USD 27.92 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 8.4% between 2018 and 2023. The growing demand for high strength steels from various end-use industries has led to significant developments in the high strength steel market. High strength steels are used across various end-use industries such as automotive, construction, yellow goods & mining equipment, and aviation & marine, among others. The growth of these industries is expected to drive the demand for high strength steels across the globe.
The key players operating in the high strength steel market include Voestalpine AG (Austria), POSCO Group (South Korea), ArcelorMittal S.A. (Luxembourg), SSAB AB (Sweden), Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (Japan), Tata Steel (India), Steel Authority of India Limited (India), United States Steel Corporation (US), Baosteel Group Corporation (China), Severstal JSC (Russia), ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany), JFE Steel Corporation (Japan), Nucor Corporation (US), and JSW Steel (India), among others. Some of these companies are involved in the production of different grades of high strength steels while others are engaged in manufacturing products such as tubes, vessels, and wires, among others made from high strength steels.
Substantial investments have been made towards expansions and new product developments by Voestalpine AG (Austria), POSCO Group (South Korea), ArcelorMittal S.A. (Luxembourg), SSAB AB (Sweden), Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (Japan), Tata Steel (India), Steel Authority of India Limited (India), and United States Steel Corporation (US).
POSCO Group (South Korea) has been focusing on expansions to meet the increased demand for high strength steels from consumers across the globe and enter the untapped markets. In August 2016, POSCO Group (South Korea) expanded its production capacity by completing its first automotive steel plant in Thailand. The plant has a total annual auto steel sheets production capacity of 450,000 tons. This expansion helped POSCO to cater to the growing demand for steel products from the automotive industry across the globe. In May 2016, POSCO Group (South Korea) completed the construction of its automotive steel processing centers in Chongqing and Chengdu to supply high strength steels for the automotive industry of China. These centers are equipped with two blanking lines and a slitting line that process and produce 140,000 tons of high strength steels, annually. This expansion enabled POSCO to increase the sales of its premium structural steels across the globe.
SSAB AB (Sweden), which is another market leader in the high strength steel market, has been focusing on the strategy of new product developments to attain a large share in the high strength steel market. In November 2017, SSAB AB (Sweden), in joint collaboration with Gestamp (Spain) (which is an automotive component manufacturer), developed Docol PHS 2000. Docol PHS 2000 offers high tensile strength. It is used in the automotive industry to develop bumpers. In September 2017, SSAB AB (Sweden) developed its Hardox product range and introduced a new product, namely, Hardox 500. The new Hardox 500 offers excellent strength, toughness, and hardness. It is a combination of Hardox 450 and Hardox 500 products of SSAB. It is used for developing heavy-duty tipper bodies and buckets. These strategies are expected to help the company expand its market reach to untapped locations and also increase its share in the high strength steel market.
