[Ferro-Alloys.com] In the Short Range Outlook (SRO) for 2019 and 2020 released by worldsteel, it said: The global construction sector’s growth is expected to slow to 1.5% in 2019 and 1.2% in 2020 after growth of 2.8% in 2018.

 

The picture for construction activity in the developed economies in 2019-2020 is somewhat mixed. The US construction sector is expected to weaken in 2019 with no recovery in 2020. In Europe, the construction sectors in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Central European economies, while still maintaining growth, will slow down due to weakening economic fundamentals and constraints in construction capacity. Civil engineering is expected to be the construction driver owing to investment in energy, transport and communication networks.

 

The Japanese construction sector is projected to report almost no growth as the decline in residential construction will be offset by growth in civil engineering.  Korea’s construction sector is expected to continue contracting despite some support from public projects.

 

Construction in emerging markets will be strong, largely influenced by infrastructure projects. In China, the real estate sector drove growth in construction activity in 2019, but in 2020 this will slow down. In ASEAN and India, active infrastructure investment is expected to drive construction.

 

Turkey has seen contracting construction activity in line with the overall economy. After a severe decline in 2019, Turkey will see only a moderate rebound in 2020.

 

In Latin America generally, infrastructure investment is constrained by uncertainty and government budget issues. Brazil’s construction sector, which has been contracting since 2014, has shown positive growth in 2019 and this could continue with infrastructure a policy priority.