General News - 2009 July 13

MEPS is forecasting total world steel manufacturing in 2009 at 1165 million tonnes. This equates to a decrease of 12 percent on the previous year’s result. There are a number of positive signs in the market. Steel stock levels at both the distributors and mills are extremely low. The savage cuts in steel output over the past nine months have partly rebalanced supply and demand by eliminating overblown inventories in the supply chain. Moreover, steel consumers, including OEM’s, building and construction companies and distributors were also carrying substantial stocks of their goods and raw materials in the boom market conditions.