Article at a glance:

The China factor in global steel

Soaring demand from China is raising hopes for a new and profitable era for the long-suffering steel industry. China will need an additional 100 million tons a year of flat-steel products by 2010—an amount roughly equal to current global overcapacity in that segment. Domestic capacity is rising to fill this gap, however, so foreign players shouldn't view China's boom as the answer to the industry's surplus problem.

The take-away

High-cost steelmakers in Japan, Western Europe, and the United States could be worse off than they are today if they maintain or expand their capacity to take advantage of China's boom.