What's app: +86 13046077977              Email: info@hungthaimetal.com

The impact of the rise of steel production capacity in Southeast Asia on the flow of global seaborne iron ore

Southeast Asia is located in southeastern Asia, including the Indochina Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago. There are 11 countries in total: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. Among them, steel production capacity is mainly distributed in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore, also known as the six ASEAN countries. Countries in Southeast Asia started relatively late in their economies, and their economic foundations are generally weak, especially the development of the steel industry is lagging behind. In recent years, with the continuous deepening of economic globalization and the continuous adjustment of the division of labor in the global industrial chain, factors such as cheap human resources in Southeast Asia have attracted a large number of investments, accelerating the industrialization process in the region and driving the continuous growth of the steel industry.

In addition, iron ore in Southeast Asia is mainly distributed in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, which also facilitates local steel production.

  • Current steel production capacity distribution

In 2022, the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore) will be 77 million tons, of which the electric furnace steel production capacity will be 41 million tons, and the converter steel production capacity will be 36 million tons, accounting for 53% and 36 million tons respectively. 47%. Specifically, Vietnam’s crude steel production capacity is the largest, reaching 27 million tons, accounting for 35% of the six ASEAN countries, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with production capacity of 17.3 million and 17 million tons, accounting for 22.5% and 22%.

In 2022, the six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore) will produce 52.99 million tons of crude steel, accounting for 2.8% of the global crude steel production of 1.9 billion tons. Vietnam ranked first with 20 million tons, accounting for 38%, down 3.02 million tons from 2021.

  • Changes in steel production capacity in the future

In recent years, huge production capacity investment projects are pouring into the six ASEAN countries, mainly concentrated in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. According to Mysteel statistics, in the next 3-5 years, 15 new steel capacity projects in Southeast Asia are expected to be put into operation, involving a total capacity of 82.2 million tons, of which Malaysia will contribute the largest increase.

Based on this calculation, the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries is expected to reach 90 million tons in 2023, an increase of 56 million tons over 2011, an increase of 164.7%. Among them, the production capacity of electric furnace steel is 48 million tons, and that of converter steel is 42 million tons, accounting for 53% and 47%, respectively. Specifically, Vietnam’s crude steel production capacity is the largest, reaching 28.8 million tons, accounting for 32% of the six ASEAN countries, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with production capacity of 19.8 million and 18.9 million tons, accounting for 22% and 21%.

It is estimated that the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries will reach 140 million tons in 2026, of which the electric furnace steel production capacity will be 51 million tons, accounting for a further drop to 36%, while the converter steel production capacity will be 89 million tons, accounting for 64%.

  • The changing trend of iron ore trade flow in the future

At present, the iron and steel industry of the six ASEAN countries is still highly dependent on the international raw material market. The main sources of imported iron ore include Brazil and Australia, and most of them flow to Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Transshipment hub.

In the next three years, the converter steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries will increase by 47 million tons, accounting for a significant increase in the proportion of crude steel production capacity, an increase of about 17 percentage points, which also means that the corresponding demand for iron ore will be greatly increased. The flow of iron ore trade will shift to the six ASEAN countries.

Read More

What kind of quality inspection is usually required for color-coated sheets to meet the standards?

Color-coated panels require 48 inspection procedures in 5 categories. So, what are the 5 categories and 48 inspection procedures? Usually, from raw materials entering the factory to finished products leaving the factory, the category refers to the inspection of the substrate from entering the factory to before going online: mainly including thickness, width and other appearance quality and material, Coating adhesion, coating weight and other internal quality testing. The second category refers to the testing of coatings from entering the factory to before going online: mainly including the color difference, gloss and basic performance testing of the samples shipped with the goods.


The second type refers to the online detection of the substrate: mainly including board type and board surface inspection, such as whether there are defects such as wave edges, loose edges, bulges, plate patterns, zinc, zinc lines, and whether they are oxidized and blackened, etc. The fourth type refers to coating On-line inspection of layers: mainly includes color difference, gloss, coating thickness, coating uniformity, etc., and at the same time, it is necessary to monitor whether there are appearance defects such as scratches, pressure pits, missing coatings, and waste that affect the use. The fifth category is color coating The most critical part of board quality inspection is the performance inspection of the color-coated product itself, which mainly includes the tests of coating adhesion, coating hardness, solvent resistance, corrosion resistance, and aging resistance. Due to the limitation of the detection complexity and the long detection time, it is generally carried out by sampling detection. In addition to the aging resistance and corrosion resistance which belong to the random inspection items, all the above-mentioned inspections, each coil will have detailed records, and will be recorded in detail in the product quality documents by the quality inspectors for future inspection. HUNGTHAI metal’s color-coated panels Strictly implement the national standard, each product goes through 5 categories and 48 inspection procedures to ensure that each product leaves the factory with zero defects.

Read More

Product Enquiry