Global steel production has peaked in 2021 and it's stagnating ever since. Is this just another minor hiccup or an ominous sign of a much bigger crisis in the making?
There is no reason to assume that any major dip won’t just be a lull period between China’s slow down and the rest of the global south’s move into high gear on their 3rd wave industrial revolution.
There might be some new material that makes steel less necessary in the future but until then there’s like half of the world that has a lot of catching up to do and they will use steel to do it.
I think that’s the most likely scenario myself. China’s whole economy is basically built around being the world’s factory, and it’s in China’s interest to help global south develop because they can export their infrastructure building skills there.
The situation in the west, on the other hand, is likely to be quite different. Western economies are headed for the abyss, and I can’t really see how liberal economics can find a way out at this point. If the US suffers a major crash, the rest of western economies will follow, and I can see USSR style collapse unfolding where it will take decades to recover after.
There is no reason to assume that any major dip won’t just be a lull period between China’s slow down and the rest of the global south’s move into high gear on their 3rd wave industrial revolution.
There might be some new material that makes steel less necessary in the future but until then there’s like half of the world that has a lot of catching up to do and they will use steel to do it.
I think that’s the most likely scenario myself. China’s whole economy is basically built around being the world’s factory, and it’s in China’s interest to help global south develop because they can export their infrastructure building skills there.
The situation in the west, on the other hand, is likely to be quite different. Western economies are headed for the abyss, and I can’t really see how liberal economics can find a way out at this point. If the US suffers a major crash, the rest of western economies will follow, and I can see USSR style collapse unfolding where it will take decades to recover after.