Steel firm has taken measures against rising raw material costs and its UK market share has risen

Yorkshire steel firm Severfield-Rowen has said it is prepared for rising steel prices, but predicts that 2010 will be the industry's “trough year”.

In an interim management statement the firm said that demand and pricing in the UK have been “poor” and that it expects 2010 to be the industry's “trough year”.

However, Severfield-Rowen said it had increased UK market share and taken measures against the increasing cost of steel and its major component iron ore.

The statement said: “As has been widely reported in the media, steel product prices have already risen and will continue to rise in the first half of 2010 due to raw material cost increases. The company remains very aware of these movements and has taken steps to ensure that their impact is minimal.”

The firm now has an order book of £241m, with the most significant win being Heathrow's Terminal 2, at which steelwork will be delivered from this summer until spring 2011.

The statement confirmed that the company has not won any export work, but its plant in India, which it expects to provide growth, is a few months away from starting production.

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