The
steel business performance by Arcelor Mittal during the first quarter of the
current year remained similar to Q1 2014. The quarterly operating report by the
company states that the company had to face several headwinds during the
quarter. The company’s performance during the initial quarter of the year was
badly affected by waning iron ore prices,
rising US steel imports and a strengthening US dollar.
Lakshmi
Mittal, CEO, Arcelor Mittal stated that the company is currently focused on
plans to overcome the headwinds facing the industry. It expects to cut down
mining costs during the year by at least 15% from current levels. Based on
current circumstances, global apparent steel usage is expected to increase
marginally between 0.5% and 1.5% during 2015.
The
apparent steel consumption in the US is expected to declaine by 2%-3% during
the year. CIS region and Brazil are likely to witness sharper drop between 5%
and 7% in 2015. Weak real estate market may offset anticipated demand growth
due to government stimulus. The Chinese apparent steel consumption may grow
between 0.5% and 1.5% during the year. On the other hand, pickup in
manufacturing activity in The European region may result in 1.5%-2.5% growth in
the region’s steel demand.
According
to press release, Arcelor Mittal’s crude steel production totaled 23.7 million tonnes
during the first quarter of the year. The crude steel output climbed higher by
3.0% when compared with Q1 2014 and by 2.6% upon comparison with Q4 2014. The
global steel shipments by the company totaled 21.6 mt during the first quarter,
rising 2.9% over the year and by 1.9% over the previous quarter. Iron ore
shipments remained flat during the quarter on year-on-year basis. When compared
with the previous quarter, the shipments fell by 5%.
Source: scrap monster