ArcelorMittal expects apparent steel consumption in Europe to contract by up to 1% year on year in 2019, "driven by weak manufacturing and declining automotive production", the world's largest steelmaker said this week.
"We continue to face a challenge from high levels of imports, particularly in Europe, where safeguard measures introduced by the European Commission have not been fully effective," ArcelorMittal chief executive officer Lakshmi Mittal said on Thursday May 9."Although we are somewhat encouraged by the firmer price environment in China, this is not being reflected in Europe where... to adapt to the current market...