Mittal CEO calls for more industry consolidation

Mittal CEO calls for more industry consolidation

Speaking at an annual steel conference in New York, Mittal Group CEO Lakshmi Mittal said that further steel industry consolidation is necessary to give companies more ability to deal with the up-and-down nature of the market. He cautioned that the market’s natural volatility would never be vanquished but it can be better managed and coped with by further consolidating the industry. He pointed to the softened market conditions created by bulging inventory stocks that could have been better managed through consolidation. Even though steelmakers have enjoyed an incredible run of profits during the past year, the recent turn of events is indicative of the fragile state in which the industry finds itself. He went on to remark that he believes that a further round of consolidations resulting in four companies producing 80-100 million tons per year is needed to correct the current situation.