World steel industry: current challenges and development trends (analytical overview)

The paper devoted to the definition of the key global challenges and trends in the world steel industry. The relevance of this analytical overview is due to the fact, that metal is one of the most used materials in the world. Therefore, the sector significantly affects the development of related and steel consuming types of activity.In the process of work, the role of metal in providing human life and the main end use markets (construction, automotive, metal products) are identified. The paper summarized the leading world and regional organizations, engaged in the study of the steel industry’s development at the international level. The world leading steel-producing countries over the last twenty years, releasing more than 80% of its output, are revealed.The dynamics of production, consumption, overproduction and trade of metal products in the world are analyzed. As a result, revealed unprecedented growth in the volume of steel production against the background of the constant metal surplus and the expansion of steelmaking capacity even in times of crisis. The technological structure of steelmaking on a global scale and by regions is considered, as well as the possibility of the industry to generate and implement innovations, including support for the development of the circular economy, is explored in the paper.It is determined, that the key current challenges for the industry are the overproduction of metal due to the continuous growth of steelmaking capacities, the instability of metal products’ trade, the need to improve the environmental friendliness and resource efficiency of production and ensuring labor safety and social protection of workers. The paper revealed that international experts mainly connect the basic directions of overcoming these problems by eliminating distortions and increasing the transparency of the steel market through the refusal from subsidies and measures of state support and introduction of long-term innovative development.The author investigated the changes in the geographical structure of world production and consumption of steel products. As a result, it was revealed, that there had been a shift in the "centers" of steel production and trade in the rapidly developing countries of Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, where China gained undoubted leadership.