Good prospects for the US construction industry in 2025

Analysts see a potentially good year ahead for the US construction industry in 2025. Up to double-digit growth rates in new construction are expected in parts of the United States. Iron ore and nickel prices continue to rise. And EU steel subsidies: Public contribution is not the solution.

Good prospects for the US construction industry in 2025

At the beginning of November, analysts at management and strategy consultancy Deloitte had already confirmed that the US construction industry would see nominal value added of 10% and an increase in gross production of 12% in 2024, thereby establishing strong fundamentals.

In the face of further falling interest rates, a hopefully optimistic outlook for 2025 was already forecast at the time. According to Deloitte, the improving economic conditions should also have an impact on construction demand in various areas.

West and north-east of the United States with double-digit growth rates

Meanwhile, there are increasing reports that the 2025 outlook for the US construction industry is likely to brighten further. The Dodge Construction Starts Forecast for 2025 predicts an increase of 8.6%. The west and north-east of the United States in particular can expect up to double-digit growth rates. Good prospects for suppliers of building materials such as steel, wood, stainless steel and aluminum.

Asian nickel and iron ore prices continue to rise

Iron ore prices on the Asian Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE, approx. +0.4%) and on the Singapore Exchange (SGX, approx. 1.3%) have risen again. This means that iron ore futures on the SGX have risen by just under 6% since Monday. The rising iron ore prices are now also being felt by steel products such as hot rolled coil and rebar, which have each improved in price by around 1.0% since the start of the week.

Nickel prices up again

Asian nickel on the SHFE also continued to rise on Thursday. The SHFE.NI2412 improved by a further 1.3% compared to the previous day. Spot market prices for Chinese nickel rose by 1.1%. In response to the rising nickel prices, stainless steel scrap prices in China have risen by more than 2% since Monday.

EU steel subsidies: Public contribution is not the solution

The current EUROFER propaganda event for an EU Steel Action Plan in the European Parliament seems to have met with resistance on some important points.

Public contributions are not the answer to all problems

According to Italian media reports, EPP MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Industry Committee, Christian Ehler, yesterday expressed his criticism of the EU steel producers’ demands for further subsidies. According to eunews.it, Ehlers said “pragmatism is needed,” but “the illusion that public contributions are the answer to all problems” must be rejected. At the same time, Christian Ehlers called for the introduction of a European capital market.

Abolish subsidies for large corporations in the EU

This economically minded approach by Mr. Ehlers is a good step in the right direction. In the end, subsidies only ever benefit a few overprotected large corporations. In the European Union, these subsidies, particularly in steel production, have led to the dictates of an oligopoly over the millions of small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU and have caused serious damage to the competitiveness of SMEs.

Courtesy : www.steelnews.biz