Despite the negative impact of Covid-19, there were positive signs in the growth rate of the construction industry and the coated steel segment during the first six months of 2020, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC).

Notably, the construction industry grew 4.5% year-on-year during the period, which was higher than the GDP growth rate of 1.8%. Domestic consumption of coated steel increased by 6.5%, while that of construction steel and steel pipe decreased by 8.1% and 6.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the steel industry was hit strongly during the pandemic. In the January – June period, the steel industry (including construction steel, coated steel, and steel pipes) produced 8.1 million tons of steel and sold 7.8 million tons, of which 1.4 million tons were exported, decreasing by 6.4%, 7%, and 12.8% year-on-year, respectively. Noticeably, although depending on export, coated steel consumption decreased by just 1.2% year-on-year.

In the second quarter, steel consumption recovered significantly while export activities still faced difficulties. Construction steel selling volume in the domestic market increased by 13.2% quarter–on-quarter and flattened year-on-year. Steel pipe domestic consumption was strong in this period as the selling volume grew by 43.6% quarter-on-quarter and 6.5% year-on-year.

On the contrary, export volume of construction steel, coated steel, and steel pipe decreased by 9.8%, 7.3% and 29.9% year-on-year, respectively.

In the construction steel segment, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) continued to expand its market share from 26.2% in 2019 to 30.9% in the first half of this year. Its selling volume increased by 12.4% year-on-year, although the segment’s selling volume decreased by 8.7%. In the Southern market, HPG’s market share expanded steadily as it sold roughly 65,000 tons in June, equivalent to a market share of 24.3%, higher than that of 22.6% in the previous month.

Meanwhile, TISCO’s market share increased from 7.5% to 8.4% to become the second-largest manufacturer in this segment.

In the coated steel segment, leading companies’ market share was stable. Hoa Sen Group (HSG)’s share increased slightly from 29.5% to 30.3%. Noticeably, TVP Steel’s market share continued to increase from 5.5% in 2018 to 7.4% in 2019, and 10.6% in the January – June period. In the steel pipe segment, HPG’s market share was stable at 31.1% while HSG’s increased from 15.3% to 16.8%.