TMT steel bars: The workhorse of Indian construction industry

As a major construction material, steel has evolved over the years with new innovations in the form of TMT steel bars. Construction Times explores how these speciality steel products are living up to the needs of today’s construction industry.

India is the second-largest steel producer globally and around 65 per cent of steel consumption is in construction sector including infrastructure and real estate. This shows the importance of steel in construction. TMT steel bars are one of the major steel products and are used as reinforcement bars in building the supportive frames of modern infrastructure. The demand for TMT steel bars is on the rise with the growing construction activities in the country.

Reinforcing demand

The country accounted for 7.6% of world crude steel production during the year 2023 - only next to China. Steel industry’s contribution to national GDP is over 2%. Government of India’s increasing emphasis on rapid infrastructural development across sectors coupled with the provision for Rs 11.1 lakh crore i.e.3.3% of GDP for capital expenditure having been earmarked in the 2024-25 interim Union Budget will further give fillip to the steel sector.

As per available data, the market size of the TMT bars segment was predicted to expand by 153.02 million tons between 2021 and 2026 at a CAGR of 3.50%. However, the TMT steel bars market forecast, as of now, shows a steady growth of the future market size and is expected to arrive at 9.1% CAGR by 2029, reaching US$17.3 billion.

Lalit Beriwala, Director, Shyam Steel Industries, highlights, “Importantly, the TMT market is expected to register far higher (8.6% and 7.7% in 2023 and 2024 respectively, compared to global growth of 1.8 % and 1.9% respectively) growth owing to increased demand from the transportation and construction sectors in the forecast period. Available data indicate that TMT rebars’ share comes to 50-60% of India’s total steel production. In FY 2022-23, India produced a total of 128.15 million tonnes (MT) in January-November 2023 of steel share of TMT bars and rods was nearly 52 MT.”

Product innovations

The growing demand for seismic-resistant buildings and structures has driven the market of TMT steel bars owing to the great seismic performance of these bars. The evolution of innovative design and technology has led to the construction of unique rib patterns, which contribute to enhancing the bond between the bar and adjacent concrete.

Different applications need varying levels of strength. Major players in the industry offers TMT steel bars with innovative designs and features to match the desired requirement of a particular application. These include application and use in earthquake-prone regions, high-rises and industrial buildings, bridges and highways, reinforced concrete structures, coastal and marine applications, and general construction application.

“High-rise buildings require stronger steel than, say, fences. This can be achieved by varying the steel's composition, processing methods, and heat treatment. Ductility refers to the steel's ability to deform without breaking. Seismic zones need steel with higher ductility to withstand earthquakes, while applications like pipelines require less ductility for better pressure resistance. Steel exposed to harsh environments needs better corrosion resistance. This can be achieved through special coatings, alloying elements, or specific processing techniques,” elaborates Sunil Kumar Agarwal, Director, Kamdhenu Limited.

Kamdhenu is a one-stop construction material solutions company, manufacturing and supplying a variety of products including but not limited to TMT bars, structural steel, colour coated sheets, etc. Kamdhenu NXT, which is a next generation TMT bar with angular double rib design. is best suited for modern architectural patterns and designs meant for newly engineered structures.

Shyam Steel as one of the major players in this sector offers a wide range of TMT steel bars for varied applications with innovative features and designs. The major product lines include: FlexiSTRONG, Fe 600, Fe 550D, Fe 500D, Fe 415, Shyam CRS TMT, etc.

Synergy Steels has introduced stainless steel bars for challenging applications. Anubhav Kathuria, Director, Synergy Steels, elaborates, “The introduction of our ‘stainless steel rebars’ has opened up a wide range of applications in the construction and infrastructure sectors. These rebars are particularly well-suited for projects requiring increased durability and heightened resistance to corrosion – such as bridges, coastal structures, high-rise buildings, and industrial facilities.”

Key challenges

In spite of the growing demand in the current market scenario, the steel industry in general and TMT steel bar segment in particular has been under pressure on various fronts. Some of these are attributed to Volatility in raw material prices, competition between organized and unorganized players, changing policies and regulations, rising production cost, poor logistical infrastructures, high power tariff, suboptimal transportation networks, volatility in the market due to unpredictable global developments, and huge demand-supply gap of critical raw materials.

However, according to Beriwala, “Notwithstanding the enormity of the challenges, consumers continue and will continue to rely on TMT bars for their unchallenged supremacy in the construction sector. Besides, given the extensive use of new age technologies in the steel industry, there will be higher degree of qualitative improvement of TMT bars in terms of their strength, flexibility, corrosion-resistance quality and power of resistance against earthquake etc. That’s where the key to TMT bars’ market dominance lies.”

Strong future

The Indian TMT steel bar market presents significant opportunities for growth and future looks optimistic for the players. Agarwal elaborates, “We emphasize a strong focus on innovation, research and development. By continually investing in new specialty products and enhancing existing offerings, we aim to stay responsive to the evolving needs of the market. This commitment to innovation positions us to provide solutions that meet the changing requirements of our customers.”

Kathuria adds, “As construction projects continue to expand within the country – owing to the government’s consistent push on infrastructure development – we hope that these stainless steel rebars become the preferred choice, for their structural integrity and long lifespan.”

“We expect exponential growth in the TMT bar market in the coming years,” says Beriwala. “We do hope that as a major steel manufacturing entity, our contribution to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat – a journey for emerging as the third-largest economy in the world and a global manufacturing hub – will be no less significant,” he concludes.