China’s refractories market: Managed decline
By Albert Li
Published: Monday, 22 August 2016
A policy to reduce steel capacity in China has neutralised the impact that rising steel production might have had on refractories demand in the first half of this year, while the tough trading conditions have prompted some companies to exit the market altogether, Albert Li, IM Analyst, finds.
The refractories industry has been in more or less steady
decline for the last five years and 2016 has seen no let-up in
the sector’s downward spiral. Refractories
consumption is tied to steelmaking activity, but when policy
interferes with macroeconomics, this relationship can break
down.
China, the world’s...