Xu Lejiang, president of Chinese steel producer Baosteel, has stated at the 10th CSM Steel Congress and 6th Baosteel Biennial Academic Conference that in the January-August period of the current year China’s large and medium-size steelmakers registered an aggregate net loss of RMB 18 billion ($2.83 billion).
According to data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), China’s large and medium-size steelmakers had posted a net profit of RMB 14.6 billion in the January-August period last year amid rapid decreases in iron ore prices. Meanwhile, in the January-September period of the current year China’s apparent consumption of crude steel totaled 533 million mt, down 5.8 percent year on year, according to CISA data.
Mr. Xu said that the shift in the domestic finished steel industry from short supply to oversupply is inevitable, similar to the situation in developed countries in Europe and America. In 2015, China will see the first decline in its crude steel output in over twenty years, and so China’s steel industry and steel market participants should be prepared for a “winter” for the overall industry, Mr. Xu commented.