Newly-published UK government statistics show an estimated 7.6 million tonnes of steel will be needed for public infrastructure plans over the next decade, up from last year’s estimate of 5mt.
In 2019-2020 at least £108 million ($153m) of the reported £148m of steel purchased by the UK government was sourced from UK producers.
The reconstituted UK Steel Council held their second meeting this week after the government published the latest public steel procurement data. The next meeting will be in July.
Among the projects needing steel will be HS2, with an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of requirement, while Network Rail will need 1mt for track renewals. The UK government wants to promote the participation of local steel suppliers in forthcoming major public contracts.
Earlier this week the UK government issued its proposal on the future of steel safeguard measures, which are scheduled to expire at the end of June (see Kallanish passim). The measures are set to be extended for some products.
Adam Smith Germany
