China plans to close 7.81 million tons of outdated annual steel making capacity this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said yesterday, as the government continues to consolidate an industry that's struggling with overcapacity and slowing demand.
The combined crude steel capacity in China, the world's largest producer, is believed to have exceeded 900 million tons per year, according to industry estimates. Crude steel output rose 3.1 percent to 717 million tons last year. The growth rate was sharply lower from that in 2011 and 2010 as the economy slowed.
In February, the ministry estimated that China's steel output may total 750 million tons this year.
The ministry also said yesterday that China will shut down 14.05 million tons of coking coal capacity and 1.73 million tons of ferroalloy capacity this year.
Meanwhile, there are also plans to close down 273,000 tons of aluminium, 665,000 tons of copper smelting, and 879,000 tons of lead smelting capacity this year.