According to the Financial Times summary of the British Iron and Steel Federation's survey of 1962: "Steel producers, who this year have been operating at only about 74% of capacity, believe that during 1963 ouput will show only a small improvement from the depressed level of 1962, 2
"If their forecasts prove to be accurate, they will have difficulty in maintaining thecurrent rate of capacity utilisation without taking some plant out of service. "(Which moans of course closure of mills, stc., and the sacking of workers)", This is because the amount of steel which the industry will be able to make duting the next 12 months is expected to rise by another 2.5 m tons to a level of 30.25m tonsas fuller use is made of the two new strip mills in South Wales end Scotland and as other development schemes reach their final stages. In on analysis of the outlvok published today the British Iron ~~ and Steel Federotion suggests that where capacity utilisation is concerned the industry will next year have to amulate Alice and “run es hard os it can even to stay in the same place",
"The nearest the Federation gets to making a firm forecast about total output in 1963 is to say that it is "likely to fall somewhere betvean the 1962 level of 20.6m tons and the 1961 level of 22,1m tons,! ",