Salient features
Overview and sustainability
The 2019 financial year represented the most challenging year since the global financial crisis for the world steel industry, and an exceptionally difficult year for the South African economy and ArcelorMittal South Africa.
The downturn in world steel has been faster and deeper than could have ever been anticipated. The correlation between steel prices and raw material costs has broken down. The size of the dislocation between steel prices and raw material cost is very unusual, and although recently, raw material prices have moderated a little, the dislocation continues. Internationally, steel producers are struggling to respond fast enough to the dramatic change in the business environment compared to 2018. Domestically, numerous downstream steel businesses have disclosed being in financial distress.