Plunging demand for steel in China has pushed prices in some markets as low as the cost of cabbage, as worries mount that annual steel consumption may shrink for the first time in 19 years.
中国的钢铁需求骤降，致使某些市场的钢铁价格跌至白菜价，人们日益担忧钢铁年消费量可能出现19年以来首次下降。
Some grades of rebar, a steel product used in construction, fell to Rmb2,600 ($419) a tonne in northern Chinese markets this week, according to prices on industry website Steelhome – equivalent to the retail price of cabbage.
根据行业网站“钢之家”(Steelhome)的数据，某些等级的螺纹钢（建筑用钢材）本周在华北市场跌至每吨2600元人民币（合419美元），相当于白菜的零售价。

Chinese steel consumption has been bolstered for years by the boom in demand for the refrigerators, supermarkets, train wagons and greenhouses that now allow Beijingers to enjoy green vegetables all winter long. But that demand is falling sharply as China’s economic growth peaks.
多年来，中国的钢铁消费量因对冰箱、超市、火车车皮和温室的需求旺盛而一路走高，这些东西使北京市民现在整个冬天都能吃上新鲜的绿色蔬菜。但随着中国经济增长见顶，钢铁需求正大幅下滑。
Meanwhile, cabbage is not the ubiquitous product it once was. Trucks laden with the vegetable no longer lumber into Beijing in the crisp autumn days and few residents stack them in their stairwells in preparation for the winter.
同时，白菜不再像过去那样无处不在了。载满白菜的卡车不再在凉爽的秋日里慢慢驶入北京，也没有多少居民在楼道里堆满白菜预备过冬了。
The drop in steel demand “is a long-term trend”, said Li Xinchuang of the China Iron and Steel Association, which represents the nation’s largest mills. Association data show steel consumption dropped in July and August compared with the previous year. Mr Li said the decline continued in September.
代表中国各大钢厂的中国钢铁工业协会(China Iron and Steel Association)的李新创说，钢铁需求下降“是长期趋势”。该协会的数据显示，钢铁消费量在7月和8月出现了同比下降。李新创表示，9月钢铁需求继续出现下降。
The fall in steel consumption in the third quarter largely reflects slower housing construction. A similar drop this quarter would make 2014 the first year consumption has shrunk since 1995, when the Chinese economy was recovering from a bout of inflation.
第3季度钢铁消费量出现下降，基本上反映了房地产建设放缓的迹象。如果第4季度再出现类似的下降，2014年将成为1995年以来首个全年钢铁消费量下滑的年份（1995年中国经济处于一轮通胀后的恢复期）。
“All the indicators we look at show the fourth-quarter economic recovery is unlikely to be strong,” said Song Chunlei, vice-director of steel consultancy LGMI in Beijing.
“所有指标表明，第四季度的经济复苏不太可能表现强劲，”北京钢铁行业咨询公司兰格钢铁(LGMI)副总经理宋春雷说。