Heavy structural steel is a primary component in commercial construction. In 2021, the sales of heavy structural steel in the UK totalled £1.2bn, and the sales of lightweight steel framing came to £1.5bn. In the same year, the total output of heavy structural steel was 8.0 million tonnes, and the output of lightweight steel framing was 12.0 million tonnes.
Over the last decade, significant market consolidation has occurred. In 2021, the three largest firms in the heavy structural steel market (Apex Steel, Beta Metals, and Gamma Corp) produced 6.4 million tonnes of structural steel between them.
Large firms also dominate the lightweight steel framing market. Fig. 1 shows the market shares of different operators in the lightweight steel framing market in 2021.
Fig. 1: UK market shares of lightweight steel framing volumes, 2021
| Operator | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Independent Fabricators | 30% |
| Apex Steel | 22% |
| Delta Build | 18% |
| Gamma Corp | 15% |
| Sigma Framing | 10% |
| Omega Trusses | 5% |
Explain, using relevant calculations, whether the heavy structural steel market was more concentrated or less concentrated than the lightweight steel framing market in 2021.
