The inevitable has happened and yet another piece of UK steelmaking appears to be consigned to the dustbin of history. SSI UK in Redcar, north-east England was formally liquidated and placed into the hands of a receiver on 2 October.

The steelmaker will now cease to make steel, trapped between a parent company in Thailand with its own operational problems and a UK government either unwilling or unable to act to save the plant. 1700 direct jobs will be lost, and a yet-to-be-confirmed number of contractor and indirect positions are also disappearing.

There has been some media speculation that the site's coke ovens may be retained, with as-yet unsubstantiated rumours that UK solid fuel producer Hargreaves may be interested in taking on the facility.

The immediate tragedy however surrounds the steelmaking job losses and the associated effect on the communities involved. But with the removal of yet another pillar from the UK steel production sector, the rest of the industry in the country will be wondering what the future holds.

The UK produced 12.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2014. A volume of 10.2mt came from the integrated route with 2.8mt of slab being produced on Teesside, according to SSI plc figures. The immediate effect on UK annual steel production is patently obvious, back down to a single-digit millions figure in 2016, barring a miracle.

China, with its basically government-owned steel sector, places steel in pole position in its decision making. Japan, long-term as ever in strategy and approach, just ploughs on. The US, even with the sector under pressure from lower domestic demand and increasing imports, continues to fight tooth-and-nail to uphold production and jobs. India’s government has set sail on a course of rapid steelmaking expansion. Even within in the EU, steel is normally high on the political agenda in Germany and, more vociferously, in Italy.

What is the UK government’s strategy for steel? As with other UK political administrations for the last 35 years, it does not appear to have one, Kallanish observes. “Would the last one to leave the UK steel production sector, please switch off the blast furnace,” springs to mind.