A new report has showed that steel output in the UK hardly increased in 2011 as the euro zone crisis and economic uncertainty in the last six months badly affected demand.

UK Steel, a division of the EEF manufacturers organization, said that output per week was 182,000 tonnes in 2011, just 0.8% higher than 2010, although demand is forecast to pick up in the coming months on the back of firms restocking supplies.

Mr Ian Rodgers director of UK Steel said that "After an improvement in the first half of last year, steel demand could not escape the nervousness in key customer sectors about the strength of both the UK and euro zone economies."

He continued that "However, this low output level is not an accurate indication of the underlying level of consumption. Stocks in supply chains are now at very low levels, and re stocking in the first quarter is expected to help drive a recovery in steel output."

The news followed 350 job losses last week at Thamesteel in Sheerness in Kent after it went into administration.

(Sourced from www.shropshirestar.com)