Glimmers of hope in the steel industry's darkest hour

The $1 billion dollar annual loss announced by BlueScope Steel confirmed what is common knowledge: the Australian steel industry is in crisis and fighting for survival. The latest statistics show that steel production in this country has dropped by over 30% since 2011 as the high Australian dollar and low cost imports from China have largely wiped out our export market and created problems in local markets for Arrium and BlueScope. The closure of the giant No. 6 Blast Furnace at Port Kembla last year was a momentous occasion and an acknowledgement that in the current climate, Australian steel simply cannot compete with our cheaper Asian rivals. These problems reflect not just the distortion to our dollar induced by the mining boom but also a failure to innovate and develop products and downstream industries that build on our significant advantages with raw materials and technological know how.