According to statistics of the World Steel Association, world output of crude steel in 2015 was 1. 62 billion tons, and average capacity utilization rate 69.7 percent, 3.7 percentage points lower than the 73.4 percent in 2014, which shows that the overcapacity of the world steel sector is increasing.
When Zhou Jiangtao joined Ansteel Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd, he expected the life of stability and good salary traditionally guaranteed by state-owned companies.
Redundancies are inherently painful for those losing their jobs, their families and society at large, but for industries weighed down by overcapacity, it is a transition that could not happen soon enough.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has reiterated the urgency and the government's resolve to cut excess capacity in steel and coal industries, as the country strives to restructure its economy.
China's large and medium-sized steel companies lost 72 billion yuan ($11.22 billion) in the first 10 months of this year as they struggled with a collapse in steel prices. The average price of steel has plunged more than 30 percent this year due to many factors, including a drop in domestic demand stemming from China's economic slowdown.
China's steel production capacity is likely to peak in 2016 as capacity is eliminated, gradually outpacing additions, Fitch Ratings has predicted.
Former anchor Chai Jing became a household name through her in-depth investigative reporting for China Central Television of national news stories such as the SARS outbreak, Wenchuan earthquake and coal mine accidents.
China's bloated steel industry will continue to experience tough times this year despite years of government efforts to address overcapacity in the sector, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Thursday.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) of the United States on Thursday said in a final ruling that an American industry is materially injured by reason of imports of non-oriented electrical steel (NOES), a cold-rolled and flat-rolled alloy steel product, paving the way for the U.S. government to levy punitive duties on the products.
Vietnam levies 1st anti-dumping taxes on imported stainless steel
Chinese steel companies are growing despite widespread losses and the government's efforts to thin the sector.
A flurry of online trading platforms have been launched as Chinese steel companies hope that branching into the Internet sphere will boost sales and help them weather the hard days.
China's largest steel trader, China Minmetals Corp. (CMC), on Tuesday opened its e-commerce platform to other dealers to help the sector handle overcapacity and a credit crunch.
The slower growth of China's steel demand in 2014 and 2015 was keeping with the the country's economic development level as an industrial producer and reflected its change of economic model, said a senior official of an international industry association on Wednesday.
The U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday that it initiated trade probes into imports of electrical steel products from five foreign countries.
Chinese steelmakers, already obsessed with low profit margins, have been told to increase their environmental investment to help the country reduce air pollution.
It might sound ridiculous for a steelmaker to raise pigs, but Chinese steelmaking firms are showing unprecedented interest in non-steel businesses to cope with the challenge of low profits amid a downturn.
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