How the coronavirus outbreak could kill steel's fragile recovery

Manufacturers globally are staring at slowdown as China halts construction activity

As steel production in China in 2019 was up by an impressive, but so­mewhat unexpected 8.3 per cent to 996.3 million tonnes (mt), the country’s share of the world output of 1.87 billion tonnes (bt) rose to 53.9 per cent from 50.9 per cent in 2018. In aluminium and copper too, the world’s second largest economy has a predominantly big share of global production and consumption. What is more, with the country being ag­gressively engaged in infrastructure bui­lding and construction ac­tivities with stimulus often provided by Beijing, most of its metal production is consumed locally. Therefore, any major disruption in