News
Steel performs well in constrained market
![](https://www.newsteelconstruction.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/nMarketShares2102.gif)
Structural steelwork increased its market share in key sectors during 2020, despite most areas of the construction industry severely contracting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Market Share Survey, which has been produced by independent researchers Construction Markets since 1980, demand in most construction sectors fell by over 20% last year, but steelwork fared well in this weakened market.
The key sheds market was down 23.7%, compared to 2019, with a total floor area of 9,113,000m2. However, steelwork’s market share rose from 92.2% in 2019 to 92.4% in 2020.
According to many developers, this sector is expected to perform well in 2021, due to the knock-on effect of the pandemic lockdown, which has seen the demand for distribution centres increase, partly because of the rise in online shopping.
The multi-storey market was down 22.6% from 2019, but steelwork’s overall share increased from 64.3% to 64.7% in 2020.
Steelwork managed to increase its share in most multi-storey sub-sectors, with a 1.4% market share rise in offices, to an all-time high of almost 74% in 2020. In the retail sector its share was up by 5.5%, in leisure up by 3.6% and in health up by 0.5%.
The residential market fell by 24.7% in 2020, but steelwork’s share for low-rise apartments increased by 3.1% compared to the previous year to 12.5%, which equated to a floor area of 265,000m2.