The European and US steel industry have yet to report any major incidents concerning the so-called Coronavirus.
According to the European Steel Association (EUROFER) the virus has not yet had a significant impact on the EU steel market. “EU steelmakers are able to deliver products from their EU mills,” EUROFER told Steel Times International.
Meanwhile, in the USA, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) commented: “The latest data suggests that domestic steel mills have not been adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak. AISI estimates raw steel production increased 1.2% during the week ended 29 February, compared to the previous week, and was also up slightly compared to the same week last year. For the first two months of 2020, preliminary data show raw steel production up nearly 1% compared to the same period last year. Steelmaking capacity utilisation increased to 82.5% last week, up from both the previous week and from the same week last year. That being said, the outbreak poses a clear downside risk to what was already expected to be a challenging year, particular with respect to domestic steel consumption. AISI is closely monitoring the situation.”