China, which produces over half the world’s crude steel – ingots, semi-finished products (billets, blooms, slabs), and liquid steel for castings – is dealing with the more or less controlled collapse of its property development sector, which once was a big contributor to overall economic growth. Construction is a big user of steel. In addition, there has been a slowdown in manufacturing. So, since the peak in 2020, China’s production of crude steel has fallen by 4.3%, to 1,019 million tonnes (Mt) in 2023, according to new data from the World Steel Association, the worst three-year drop in the data going back to 1996, ... (full story)