Rebar Consumption Outlook
An upward trend in rebar consumption since 2007 has been observed in the Philippines, attributable to the positive economic growth and development. Internationally, rebar producers have repeatedly referred to the Philippines as “a bright spot” in the world, alluding to the rest of the world’s mediocre to miserable economic growth and rebar demand experienced for now nearly a decade. While analysts, including those from Goldman Sachs1 and HSBC2 see the continued rise of the Philippines into one of the top world economies, in contrast many continue to have a pessimistic outlook for the steel industries of the developed world.
The sustained economic growth has given the construction industry momentum of its own. The major developers have taken on long-term pipelines of projects. It is widely known by the industry that the momentum of building is fuelled by the needs of the country, rather than speculative positions on property. This is a resilient type of growth that renders irrelevant political and even global or domestic economic blips.
The empirical evidence of economic development debunks the off-the-cuff boom-bust cycle theories and construction bubble doomsday scenarios.
There is no secret to the Philippines’ growth story: