In-Focus
P
Rebar Market to Grow on
Back of Infrastructure Spend
opularly known
as rebar,
reinforcing bar
is a common hot rolled
steel bar which finds
application widely in the
construction industry,
especially for concrete
reinforcement. Steel
rebar is most commonly used as a
tensioning devise to reinforce
concrete and other masonry
structures to help hold the
concrete in a compressed state.
Concrete is a material that is very
strong in compression, but
virtually without strength in
tension. To compensate for this
imbalance in a concrete slab's
behavior, reinforcement bar is cast
into it to carry the tensile loads.
Globally increasing construction
activities and advancement of
construction technologies is
expected to drive the global
demand during the period of study.
Geographically North America
dominated steel rebar market
owing to the large scale demand of
steel rebar into construction, oil &
gas industry in the region. North
America was followed by AsiaPacific and Europe as second and
third largest market for steel
rebar market. Asia Pacific is
projected to have fastest growth,
owing to rapidly developing
infrastructure as a result of
growing construction industry and,
expanding manufacturing base and
government initiatives for stricter
building & construction regulations
in developing nations such as
China, and India in this region.
The use of rebar grades and
products has undergone
remarkable changes in recent
years. Though the IS: 1786
building codes specify only Fe-415
for reinforced cement concrete,
its usage is declining as the
market is shifting to higher
grades. The construction industry
has started adopting newer
grades like Fe-500, Fe-550, and
Fe-500D. Similarly, on the
application side, too, rebar use
has been moving toward higher
value-added products like corrosion
resistant steel rebar, epoxy
coated rebar, earthquake resistant
rebar, galvanized rebar, etc. The
major primary producers of rebar
in India include: Tata Steel, Steel
Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Jindal
Steel and Power (JSPL), JSW
Steel and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam
Ltd (RINL).
48 February 2017
Market Size
The rebar with major diameters between
8mm and 25mm finds application in
buildings, bridges, highways etc. With an
estimated demand of around 35 million
tonnes for 2015-16, the market is currently
dominated by secondary producers with an
estimated share of 70 percent. The overall
annual demand of steel rebar in India has
jumped significantly from 22.04 million
tonnes reported in 2012-13. While the
secondary producers manufacture rebars
through processing of imported steel scrap,
the primary producers manufacture it by
using iron ore as the raw material.
Thus, along with demand of secondary
producers, primary producers also gain
momentum in rebar consumption across all
consumer sectors.
India had produced over 30.2 MT of bars
and rods in FY14. Out of which, around 8.5
million tonnes was contributed from primary
manufacturers and about 21.5 million tonnes
by secondary manufacturers. Indian re-bar
industry production had increased by 2.3%
in FY14 against FY13. As per an esatimate,
about 10 MT of additional capacity was
planned by Re-bar industry across various
In-Focus
regions of India. In this year, some of the
secondary manufacturers brands have raised
its totaled capacity by 0.64 million tonnes
per annum. Chhattisgarh & Maharashtra are
the two states that have been eyed as a centre
for TMT production.
In these states, many additional
capacities have been added at present.
However, Kalika TMT and a secondary
manufacturer Raipur Alloys & Steels are
going to expand its capacities by 0.19
million tonnes per annum and 0.83 million
tonnes per annum respectively in near future.
Historical Background
The dominance of cold twisted deformed
steel bars (CTD bars) in India since the early
70's of the last century was mainly due to the
fact that most civil engineers at that time did
not bother to check the vital parameters like
yield strength, Ultimate Tensile Strength
(UTS), elongation etc. while using CTD bars
in reinforced cement concrete (RCC). The
industrially developed countries had stopped
the use of such CTD Bars by the start of
1970's. Then came the era of ThermoMechanically Tested (TMT) Bars, which are
even now being used by some civil engineers
as they believe that these bars are of the
specified grade Fe-415 as per 1786/1985 and
are for superior to the CTD bars which were
being used earlier.
However, these so-called TMT Bars
available in the market were being used
earlier. However, these so-called TMT Bars
available in the market were often found on
testing to have yield strength of 350-390
N/mm2 only. The usage of Reinforced
Cement Concrete (RCC) has become the
default standards for construction of
residential and commercial structures,
flyovers, bridges, water retaining structures,
industrial and power plants, etc. Rebar
constitute about 15-25 percent of the total
materials cost for civil construction.
The Rebar industry has been a main steel
product among the Finished Steel product
categories. In 2009, the rebar accounted for
about 35 percent of the total steel production
in the country. The construction and
infrastructure boom in the country in the past
decade contributed to the rapid growth in the
industry. The rebar industry is characterized
by both primary and secondary players
operating in the market. Integrated Steel
Producers (ISPs) like SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW,
that produce from the pure iron ore account
for about 30 percent of the total rebar market.
The remaining 70 percent is catered by
about 300-400 producers. Some of the
leading secondary producers include
Tulsyan, SRMB, Sujana etc. Medium and
small players have regional presence
catering to the demand in a particular region.
Commoditizing Rebar Markets
Increased competition in the Rebar
industry has resulted in the market becoming
commoditized. Industry players in the last
five years have focused more on marketing
and branding of the product. Tata Steel is the
pioneer in this aspect as the company has
successfully branded its products, thereby,
sustaining its leadership. In 2009-10, Tata
Steel was also accorded the first Super
Brand for this segment. Tata steel achieved
49 February 2017
a production of 1.56 million tons of TMT
rebar becoming the largest TMT rebar
manufacturer.
Stiff competition and better market
penetration led to the development of valueadded steel rebars in India. Increased
awareness on corrosion-protected and
earthquake-resistant rebars and the benefits
they offer in terms of longer structural life
and lower life cycle cost has prompted
developers to include them in their projects.
Increased competition in the rebar market
has compelled leading producers of rebars to
look for branding and product
differentiation. The value-added products
have been actively promoted by these
producers to sustain their leadership in the
rebar market.
In recent years, the numbers of coastal
projects have increased considerably.
Projects such as ports, coastal thermal power
stations, coastal buildings for commercial
use, desalination plants, etc. are being
implemented along the vast coastline of the
country (both eastern and western coasts in
the country). All these have increased the
demand of corrosion-protected rebars.
Hence, Corrosion Resistant Steel (CRS)
rebars have the lowest life cycle cost among
the existing rebar products available in the
market over a structural lifespan of 50 years.
For stainless steel, the life span is claimed to
be 120 years. The distinct advantages of CRS
rebars include corrosion resistance and is
improved while retaining the strength,
toughness, ductility, and formability, thus
increasing the structure lifespan, higher
strength means lower tonnage requirement,
thus reducing construction costs, CRS is not
a coated material so it is unaffected by
transport, handling or concrete pouring, so
does not require any touch-up work.
No extra precaution in handling and
storage is required, better performance in the
case of natural calamities like earthquake
and fire and due to lower carbon equivalent,
weldability is far superior compared to
conventional rebars.
Fragmented Markets
The Indian steel rebars market is highly
fragmented and unorganized – more than
1,800 re-rollers (representing unorganized
sector) are reported to be operating in India.
Being volume driven business, rebar market
is dominated by regional players due to high
In-Focus
logistic expenses.
Eastern and western regions have the
largest concentration of small re-rolling
mills for steel rebars. The branded TMT bars
have been introduced by most of the leading
players (representing organized sector). The
use of rebar grades and products has
undergone remarkable changes in recent
years. Though the IS: 1786 building codes
specify only Fe-415 for reinforced cement
concrete, its usage is declining as the market
is shifting to higher grades. The construction
industry has started adopting newer grades
like Fe-500, Fe-550, and Fe-500D.
Similarly, on the application side, too, rebar
use has been moving toward higher valueadded products like corrosion resistant steel
rebar, epoxy coated rebar, earthquake
resistant rebar, galvanized rebar, etc.
Indian rebar markets is scattered into
many large regional players serving local
customers at either at par or a discount to the
national level players. But, their acceptance
among consumers is smooth resulting into
their high business volumes. Many large and
small players have strengthened their
presence in regional markets making thereby
entry of national level players difficult.
Branding in the Rebar Industry
Increased competition in the Rebar
industry has resulted in the market becoming
commoditized. Industry players in the last
five years have focused more on marketing
and branding of the product. Tata Steel is the
pioneer in this aspect as the company has
successfully branded its products, thereby
sustaining its leadership. In 2009-10, Tata
Steel was also accorded the first
superBrand for this segment. Tata steel
achieved a production of 1.56 million tons of
TMT rebar becoming the largest TMT rebar
manufacturer. Other organized sector
players including Jindals and Balmukund
have claimed strong presence in rural
markets.
FRP in the Fray,
A Global Experience
The global fiber reinforced polymer
(FRP) rebars market is projected to reach
USD 91.00 Million by 2021, registering a
CAGR of 11.4% between 2016 and 2021.
This growth is fueled by the increasing
demand for the renovation and strengthening
of new and existing structurally deficient
bridges, and growing application of FRP
DEMAND FORECAST OF
STEEL REBARS
FINANCIAL YEAR QUANTITY (MT)
2011-12
21.77
2012-13
22.04
2013-14
23.91
2014-15
25.90
2015-16
28.05
2016-17
30.39
2017-18
32.91
2018-19
35.65
2019-20
38.61
2020-21
41.82
rebars in other applications such as marine
structures & water fronts, and water
treatment plants globally.
FRP rebars are used widely in highways,
bridges, & buildings application, as their
superior strength-to weight ratio
significantly exceeds that of any traditional
rebar. The Department of Transportation
(DoT) in the U.S. and Canada use FRP rebars
for highways, bridges, & buildings
construction. FRP rebars are mainly used for
construction of new bridges and restoration
of structurally deficient or functionally
obsolete bridges.
For instance, according to the National
Bridge Inventory (NBI), more than 146,000
bridges are structurally deficient or
functionally obsolete in the U.S. as of 2010.
Thus, the use of FRP rebars in these
50 February 2017
applications reduces the life cycle costs,
thereby enhancing service life and safety.
The Floodway Bridge (Canada) is one of the
largest bridges constructed using FRP
rebars. In addition, The Florida Keys
Bridges (U.S.) is one of the prominent
examples where CFRP rebars are used for
the strengthening of structurally deficient
bridges. Many such projects are executed in
the U.S. and Canada where FRP rebars is
used as concrete structure reinforcements.
The North American region is expected
to be the largest market for FRP rebars
globally due to the increased demand from
highways, bridges, & buildings, marine
structures & waterfronts, and other
applications such as parking structures, MRI
rooms, salt storage facilities, and so on. This
growth is attributed to construction of new
bridges and structural strengthening projects
in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, new
bridge construction, renovation of
structurally deficient bridges, and tunneling
activities for light rail transit (LRT) to
upgrade the infrastructure play a pivotal role
in boosting the need of FRP rebars in this
region.
The FRP rebars for decks in bridges,
such as Sierrita de la Cruz Creek Bridge
(U.S.), Taylor Bridge Manitoba (Canada),
Pierce Street Bridge, Lima OH (U.S.)
Wotton, Quebec (Canada) are driving the
market in North America. In North America,
FRP rebars are also used in applications such
as water treatment plants and marine
structures & waterfronts. FRP rebars are
either used in the top mat or top/bottom mat
of decks.
Outlook
With increased focus on urbanization,
the rebar market is likely to witness a strong
growth in coming years. Slow growth was
recorded albeit temporarily after a
slowdown in India economic growth in the
past few years.
Demonetisation of high value currency
notes in November 2016 worsened the entire
construction activity including demand or
rebars in India. But, its impact has started
subsiding with forecast of strong growth
momentum to begin in near future. Global
consultancy Frost & Sullivan forecast
India’s demand of rebars to hit 41.82 million
tonnes by 2020-21.