ABSTRACT
After a period of relative stability during the 1960s, the world steel market experienced considerable turbulence in the 1970s and 1980s. World steel production grew steadily up to the early 1970s, and in anticipation of further demand growth, steel companies in OECD countries continued to expand production capacity. However, the economic recessions of the decade following 1973 seriously reduced demand for steel, with the sharpest drops experienced in 1975 and 1982 (see Chart 5.1). These cyclical downturns, coupled with the emergence of new steel producers in a number of Third World countries, resulted in a major overcapacity problem. Whereas the average effective steel-making capacity utilisation in the OECD countries was around 85 per cent between 1960 and 1975, over the next decade and a half it averaged only about 70 per cent (see Chart 5.2) 1 World Steel Production https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315029870/d294cfea-364d-4d7b-8fc5-d90268c1f3fc/content/fig5_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: OECD, The Steel Market and Outlook, various issues. Steel Capacity Utilisation Rates https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315029870/d294cfea-364d-4d7b-8fc5-d90268c1f3fc/content/fig5_2_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Only includes countries that were EC members during year listed. Source: OECD, The Steel Market and Outlook, various issues.
