钢铁制造商:安赛乐米塔尔可能进一步关停在欧工厂
ArcelorMittal has refused to rule out further plant closures in Europe as the global steel industry enters what some observers fear could be a five-year spell of overcapacity linked to signs of a severe slowdown in demand and consumption in China.
安赛乐米塔尔(ArcelorMittal)拒绝排除进一步关停在欧工厂的可能性。与此同时，全球钢铁行业正陷入某些观察人士担心可能长达五年的产能过剩期。人们可从中国钢铁消费及需求增长显著放缓影响的迹象中认识到这种产能过剩。The unwillingness by the world's biggest steelmaker to confirm previous pledges that it would keep its main European factories open has sparked speculation that it might be preparing to announce permanent shutdowns of some of its smaller units on the continent.
这家全球最大的钢铁制造商不愿确认其早前有关保持在欧主要工厂运转的承诺，人们因此纷纷猜测该公司或准备宣布永久关闭部分在欧的中小型工厂。Lakshmi Mittal, chairman, chief executive and main owner of the company, told the Financial Times that the "sustained collapse in European steel demand has created a severe imbalance with potential supply of the metal" and that the overall problems for the world economy remained "very concerning".
安赛乐米塔尔董事长、首席执行官和主要股东拉克希米•米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)对英国《金融时报》表示，"欧洲（钢铁）需求持续下滑导致潜在供应与需求之间出现严重失衡"，而且世界经济面临的整体问题仍然"非常令人担忧"。
In answer to questions about whether ArcelorMittal was considering any further closures in Europe to add to the permanent shutdowns of two plant furnaces in Liege, Belgium, a company spokesperson would only say that "no further plans have been announced".
在被问及安塞乐米塔尔除永久性关闭两座位于比利时列日的工厂外是否还在考虑进一步关闭在欧工厂时，该公司一位发言人仅表示"目前尚未公布进一步的计划"。Isabelle Barthes, policy adviser at Industriall, a Brussels-based trade union covering the metals industry, said she was "concerned" about the possibility of ArcelorMittal making further large cuts in its European plant network.
钢铁行业贸易协会Industriall的政策顾问伊莎贝尔•巴尔泰斯(Isabelle Barthes)表示，她对安塞乐米塔尔进一步大幅关停在欧工厂的可能性感到"忧虑"。Industriall的总部位于布鲁塞尔。Hermann Reith, an analyst at BHF Bank in Germany, said the whole of the steel industry in the developed world was suffering from "structural overcapacity" in which plant supply was about 20 per cent higher than likely demand. "I can't see any potential for improvement for some time," Mr Reith said.
德国BHF银行分析师赫尔曼•赖特(Hermann Reith)指出，发达国家的整个钢铁行业存在"结构性产能过剩"问题，工厂产能较潜在需求高出约20%。他表示："短期内我看不到任何改善的可能。"If ArcelorMittal were to cut its European plant network in any sizeable way, it would signify a partial unravelling of the logic behind the bitterly fought acquisition by Mr Mittal in 2006 of Luxembourg-based Arcelor. The deal to create ArcelorMittal was driven by the Indian billionaire's idea about uniting his Mittal Steel business – which had a big presence in the US and eastern Europe – with Arcelor's high-tech steel making plants in western Europe.
若安塞乐米塔尔大幅关停在欧工厂，则表明拉克希米•米塔尔2006年艰难收购总部位于卢森堡的安赛乐背后的逻辑已部分不复成立。安塞乐米塔尔的成立动机，来自于这位印度亿万富翁欲把安赛乐位于西欧的高科技钢铁产能与自己旗下的米塔尔钢铁业务联合在一起的构想。米塔尔钢铁在美国和东欧拥有大量业务。The most likely candidates for plant closure would include several fairly small units in France, Germany and Spain – although it could also include facilities in Romania and Poland which he owned prior to the Arcelor acquisition.
最有可能被关停的工厂包括位于法国、德国以及西班牙的几家规模较小的工厂——拉克希米•米塔尔在罗马尼亚和波兰的工厂（他在收购安赛乐之前已拥有这些工厂）也有关停可能。Europe accounts for about half ArcelorMittal's steel output but only about a sixth of its profits – a fact driven by higher costs in Europe plus the weakness of demand in the continent linked to difficult conditions for many industries that use steel such as construction, cars and white goods.
欧洲占安塞乐米塔尔钢铁产出的约二分之一，但仅占其利润的约六分之一—主要是受欧洲生产成本较高以及市场需求疲软影响。这种需求疲软与欧洲的建筑、汽车及白色家电等多个存在用钢需求的行业处境艰难有关。This year world steel demand is forecast by Meps, a UK consultancy, to rise by only a weak 3.6 per cent, mainly due to a marked slowdown in the growth in demand for the commodity in China. Over the past three months, steel prices have fallen in most parts of the world, putting steel industry profitability under strain.
英国钢铁咨询公司Meps预计，今年全球钢铁需求将仅微弱增长3.6%，这主要是受中国钢铁需求增长显著放缓影响。过去三个月中，全球绝大部分地区的钢铁价格出现下跌，钢铁行业的盈利能力承受着压力。
