Steel production bounces back
UK Steel production in January bounced back from the previous month as UK manufacturing continued to respond to increased demand. According to the latest data from UK Steel, production in January was 35.4% higher than in December 2010 (201,152 tonnes a week compared to 148,574).
This was reflected in sharp increases across the major UK Steel producing regions. Production in the Yorkshire and Humber area increased by 50% (59.3k to 89.2k tonnes a week), whilst Wales saw an increase of approximately one fifth (82.6k to 101k tonnes a week).
Commenting, UK Steel director, Ian Rodgers, said: "The uplift in January output was heartening and is a reflection of the continuing improvement in UK manufacturing output generally. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go to achieve pre-recession levels of steel output, with demand from the construction sector in particular remaining very weak."
