In 2020, China's steel bar output was 266.391 million tons.

It is expected that a new round of coal price rise will not appear until April or may.

The increase took overall shipments for the last year to 407mn, slightly higher than a government-set target for the year of 400mn t.

"[Rail operator] Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is cancelling many trains," said one supplier.

In one of the most challenging engineering projects ever undertaken, Chile is building a unique steel-built suspension bridge near the site of the strongest earthquake ever recorded.

Brazilian mining firm Vale said it expects to achieve iron ore production capacity of 350mn t/yr this year, up by 8.7pc from a year earlier.

Japanese steel mill Nippon Steel expects its crude steel output in this year's January-March quarter to recover above 10mn t for the first time since January-March 2020.

The German Business Daily reported recently, the German Steel Association said, German crude steel production in 2020 was 35.7 million tons, down 10% from the weaker 2019, the lowest level since 2009.