Dive Brief:
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After seven years of low prices and uneven growth, cold-formed steel is poised for a comeback in 2015, according to the Thompson Research Group, a construction and industrial materials specialist.
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A forecast compiled for the Steel Framing Industry Association predicts next year will be steel’s best since the recession with growth between 5% and 10%.
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Construction to expand the Panama Canal and on other large infrastructure projects will drive the growth, Kathryn Thompson, the research group’s CEO, told The Times of Northwest Indiana. She noted that the market for steel will not be “explosive … [but] it should be a year when everyone finally has reason to believe that the recovery from the Great Recession is underway.”
Dive Insight:
The market for cold-formed steel began improving this year when pricing stabilized after a few roller-coaster years of price increases and declines. The greatest obstacle keeping the steel market from recovering has been the lack of demand for steel framing as growth in nonresidential construction remained sluggish.
Thompson said retail construction is down, but the building of call centers, warehouses, factories and apartments—which call for heavy-grade steel—has picked up this year.