Nations in the Persian Gulf region could face an annual shortfall of 5.2 million metric tons of sheet steel products through 2010, according to a Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) report quoted in the Gulf Times newspaper in Qatar. A study on the projected regional flat-rolled steel shortfall was presented in April at the 5th International Trade Exhibition for Construction Technology in Qatar. The GOIC study of 15 nations in the Middle East says the shortfall could be even higher than 5.2 million metric tons because regional new-plant construction plans are low and future level of imports is uncertain.