The extended lockdown to contain the Covid pandemic has dealt a severe blow on the steel industry. With construction and manufacturing activity coming to a standstill and return to normalcy a distant proposition, the industry’s prospects have dimmed in line with the economy at large.
Steel manufacturers are now focussing on managing liquidity and cash flows in the near term, to tide over the 60-65 per cent fall in demand in the first quarter of this fiscal.
Steel manufacturers are hopeful that the incentives and extended credit cycle to MSME and downstream sales channel players will ensure their business continuity, according to Crisil Research survey.
While most steel companies expect demand to recover in the December quarter, the industry is gearing up for over 15 per cent fall in demand this fiscal.
