More problems for China which may cause a further slow down in construction in China which will likely reflect on the demand for scrap steel. China had been on a frantic construction binge which has slowed.

If the current administration in China is going to attack their environmental problems by shutting down factories he is going to find they have other problems: millions of hungry unhappy Chinese.



I don't see China bringing up the steel market any time soon, perhaps many years for China. Of course the leadership of China can and has done what ever it wants with out any real concern for the environmental bureaucrats from around the world or its own citizens let alone members of this forum. 73 Mike
Shutting down factories is a short-term emergency measure. The Chinese have been making huge investments in natural gas infrastructure to help shift away from the use of coal (which is chiefly to blame for their air quality problems). As always, the problem is money. Coal is much cheaper than cleaner alternatives, although with the current glut in natural gas, the gap has narrowed considerably. Hopefully, concern for the welfare of their citizens will compel the Chinese government to continue investing in cleaner energy. The benefit for the scrapper is that this helps soak up some over-capacity of steel.