Peter Marcus, a steel-industry veteran and managing partner of World Steel Dynamics in New York, says that by 2010 China will have capacity for steel products some 63m tonnes ahead of forecast domestic demand.
Revenue and earnings were hammered by the recession, as usage of steel by automakers and in the construction industry plummeted, and competition from China increased.
Some analysts now expect the steel producers to raise the price of their product to carmakers and the construction industry, adding to concerns about inflation inChina.
Critical to the stainless steelindustry, nickel is seeing strong demand from China and the U.S. MacMillan notes that this demand is in part due to America's shortage of stainless steel scrap.