Steel processors see sluggish recovery in end-user demand
Feb 02, 2010 | 11:55 AM
| Corinna Petry
Steel demand from the construction sector is likely to maintain a slow pace in 2010, and demand from automotive, heavy equipment and other markets is returning but not to levels seen prior to the recession, according to members of the Association of Steel Distributors (ASD).
"We serve construction. Our projection is that the first six months of this year will be very slow," Ron Chase, president of Action Steel Corp., Edison, N.J., said in an exclusive roundtable discussion AMM held in Dearborn, Mich., with executives of ASD member companies.
"Starting in the second half, (demand) will start to turn and we'll see a gradual increase in business. But (this market) won't start really moving forward until 2011," Chase said. "2009 was a disaster, with sales off 20 to 40 percent. Surviving 2009 was critical for a lot of people (in construction). If they got through that, it's only six more months until they can start making a move."....
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