China Cracks Down on Winter Pollution

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China plans to reduce crude steel production by 33 million metric tons over the winter. Cuts of 30-50 percent in utilization rates at some Chinese steel plants have already begun. While the main driver is the environment, the Chinese steel industry will also improve its cost basis by removing less efficient producers from its steelmaking capacity, reports S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The Chinese central government has committed to reducing its steel capacity by 140 million metric tons by 2021. It claimed 65 million tons in 2016 and has mothballed 42 million tons of a 50-million-ton target so far in 2017, Platts reports, not counting the closure of many illegal and high-polluting induction furnaces.