The Australian Steel Institute (ASI), the nation’s leading steel advocacy group, is urgently calling for state and federal government intervention to support local steel fabricators and manufacturers.
This plea follows revelations from a recent ASI survey indicating that the domestic steel industry is being severely undermined by an influx of inexpensive imports.
In July 2024, the ASI conducted a survey of steel fabricators and manufacturers, revealing that 86 per cent of respondents had experienced reduced profit margins due to imported fabricated steel priced 15 per cent to 50 per cent lower than local offerings.
This significant price disparity suggests that foreign subsidies and dumping practices are contributing factors, which breach international trade rules by granting unfair competitive advantages to overseas exporters.
The impact is most pronounced among businesses on Australia’s east coast, particularly those involved in the structural steel market.
ASI Chief Executive Mark Cain highlighted the adverse effects on local businesses, which include decreased profit margins, reduced revenue, lower capacity utilisation, and increased operational costs.
Nearly half of the surveyed companies are restructuring to maintain viability, with small and medium-sized enterprises — employing between 20 and 200 people — bearing the brunt of the impact.
Approximately 80 per cent of the surveyed businesses are operating below 80 per cent capacity, a critical threshold for manufacturing profitability, with 20 per cent operating at less than 50 per cent capacity.
This has forced many companies to lay off skilled staff to remain afloat.
The ASI is actively engaging with government bodies to address these issues and explore potential relief measures.
A general manager from a long-standing New South Wales steel fabrication business reported that over the past 18 months, nearly $300 million worth of steel has been imported into Sydney alone, diverting funds offshore and impacting local jobs.
Another Sydney-based manufacturer emphasised the need for a more proactive governmental approach to investigate potential dumping practices by countries with excess production capacity.
The ASI is aware of ongoing investigations by the Anti-Dumping Commission into various imported steel products, with findings expected to be released in the coming months.
The outcome of these investigations could be pivotal in shaping future government actions to protect the domestic steel industry.
