Mr. Eddie Griffithsasked the Minister of Power what is the maximum steel capacity of the United Kingdom; what is now the practical capacity of the British steel industry; and what have been the monthly imports of steel ingots and slabs over the past 18 months.
§ Mr. FreesonThe only comprehensive definition of the steel industry's capacity is the maintainable annual rate of output of crude steel from steel furnaces. On this basis the industry's theoretical capacity would be slightly over 30 million tons in ideal conditions. This is not, however, equivalent to the realisable output at any particular time as this depends upon capacity at subsequent stages of production and upon the pattern of demand for steel products.
In the 18 months ended September, 1968 the monthly average of imports of steel ingots was 8,597 tons valued at£224,372. Imports of slabs are not separately distinguished in trade statistics from the total of blooms, billets, slabs, sheet bars and pieces roughly shaped by forgings; the monthly average of imports in this category in the 18 months ended September, 1968 was 23,291 tons valued at£661,009.