Beyond high prices

摘要

Despite the high price of raw materials, presenters at the Metals Service Center Institute Carbon Conference had a positive forecast for flat-rolled. Rick Bliimc, national sales and marketing manager for Nucor Corp., noted that demand in major steel consuming markets is good, the U.S. producing capacity is relatively flat and there are significant hot-end outages and inventory burn off He also focused on the "three Cs: China, consolidation and currency exchange rates." The global economy is growing at its fastest pace in 15 years with Asia and the United States as its major drivers, said Michael Rippey, executive vice president and CFO of Mittal Steel. In 2004 the global steel industry's crude steel production surpassed one billion metric tons. Ins is a stunning 83 million nit more than 2003. Rippeys forecast for 2005 has global steel consumption growing 5 percent, which equates to more than 48 million mt of finished steel. Crude steel capacity will grow by 61 million mt, and capacity utilization, if global inventory doesn't change, will remain approximately the same as 2004.