Goodbye to steel cost inflation: Cost cuts, moderate wage boosts, lower raw material and energy prices

摘要

Steelmakers' cost to produce hot-rolled band (HRB) will continue to swing sharply over the steel cycle. However, in the next five years from the mid-point of one cycle to the next, WSD expects little to no steel mill cost inflation. The mills' operating cost to produce hot-rolled band in the past 10 years has swung wildly - it's been a cost roller coaster. Based on WSD's monthly World Cost Curve results for the median-cost Chinese steel mill, the operating cost has ranged from a high of US$664/metric ton in September 2011 to a low of US$353/metric ton in January 2016 - for a variation of US$311/metric ton. For the median-cost non-Chinese mill, the high cost figure was US$710/metric ton in July 2011 and the low was US$367/metric ton in February 2016 - for a variation of US$353/metric ton.