2016 has not been a good year for steel, the British steel sector tethers on the verge of insolvency, thousands of job redundancies has shaken what little public confidence the industry commanded and China is expected to cut more than 400,000 steel jobs in the coming year.

The trough that steel finds itself might still be a relatively shallow one compared to what is yet to come. ArcelorMittal, Spain’s largest steel producer recently mothballed one of its plants in Sesato, which has a steel capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.

The reasons for the move is strikingly similar to the floundering of British plants, with a company spokesman pointing to the “extremely adverse” market conditions caused in part from the record high Chinese imports and record low steel prices.