Analysis of the Development Trends of the Steel Structure Industry in 2025

1. Demand growth is slowing down but has great potential
According to the analysis report on the current situation and future development trends of the steel structure industry from 2024-2029 by China Research Institute Puhua Industry Research Institute, although the steel structure industry has developed rapidly in the past, the global economic growth rate has slowed down since 2024, and the competition pressure in the domestic industry has intensified. The combination of multiple factors has led to a decline in the growth rate of the steel structure industry. Especially in the real estate industry, the increasing pressure of transformation has led to a decrease in demand for construction steel, which undoubtedly has a certain degree of impact on the steel structure industry.
However, from a long-term perspective, the development potential contained in the steel structure industry cannot be underestimated. With the acceleration of urbanization and the continuous development of infrastructure construction, the application prospects of steel structures in the field of construction are still broad. Especially with the implementation of the "two new" policies, the demand for high-quality steel in the automotive industry has continued to rise, opening up a new development path for the steel structure industry.
According to the forecast of the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, the demand for steel in China is expected to reach 850 million tons in 2025, a decrease of 1.5% compared to the previous year, but the decrease is significantly smaller than in 2024, approaching 3 percentage points. Among them, although the demand for steel in the construction industry is still declining, the decline is expected to be reduced by more than 5 percentage points; The demand for steel in the mechanical industry is expected to increase by 1% year-on-year; The demand for steel in the automotive industry reached approximately 59.8 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4%. These data clearly indicate that although the overall demand growth for steel has slowed down, the steel structure industry still shows a strong demand growth trend in specific areas.
     2.  Green development leads the trend
With the gradual improvement of environmental awareness in the whole society, green buildings and sustainable development have become the core development trend of the construction industry. As a green and low-carbon building model, steel structures have advantages such as high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and recyclability, which can effectively reduce the generation of construction waste and alleviate the pressure on the environment.

Looking ahead, environmental policies will become increasingly strict, and consumers' demand for green buildings will continue to rise. This will strongly promote the steel structure industry to take big strides towards a more environmentally friendly and energy-saving direction. By adopting new environmentally friendly materials, optimizing structural design, and improving production efficiency, the steel structure industry will further reduce energy consumption and pollutant emissions, achieving the goal of green and sustainable development.

3. Intelligent manufacturing and modular design are emerging
With the advent of Industry 4.0 and the popularization of intelligent manufacturing concepts, the production mode of the steel structure industry is undergoing earth shaking changes. Introducing advanced automated production lines and intelligent equipment can not only improve production efficiency and product quality, but also effectively reduce production costs and energy consumption. At the same time, the application of digital technology helps enterprises achieve precise marketing and customized services, significantly improving customer satisfaction.
Modular design is the process of breaking down complex systems into multiple independent modules that can be designed and manufactured separately before being assembled. In the field of steel structure construction, modular design can significantly improve production efficiency, reduce costs, shorten construction periods, and provide convenience for later maintenance and updates. In the future, given the construction industry's pursuit of efficiency and speed, modular design will gradually become the mainstream trend in the field of steel structure construction.
    4.  Integration and collaborative progress of industrial chain
Currently, there is a problem of poor information communication between the upstream and downstream of the steel structure construction industry chain, which leads to low operational efficiency of the entire industry chain and increases costs. Looking ahead to the future, with the continuous intensification of market competition and the increasing diversification of consumer demand, the steel structure industry will pay more attention to the integration and coordinated development of the industry chain. By optimizing supply chain management, promoting cooperation and communication between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, achieving resource sharing and complementary advantages, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency and market competitiveness of the entire industrial chain.