Steel companies worldwide are cutting production as construction and manufacturing softens amid the global financial crisis.
BlueScope chairman Graham Kraehe said its operations in Australia and the United States were holding up well in light of the financial crisis but warned that conditions were "changing".
"If you look through the developed world Australia is the best place to be and the markets are holding up longer and stronger and better in Australia," he Kraehe told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.
"When the board visited a number of operations in the US three to four weeks ago it was interesting to see that the segments we're in, which are not residential but construction and commercial building, had held up better than perhaps most of the rest of the US economy."
BlueScope chief executive Paul O'Malley said high quality mining developments in Australia were continuing but the residential sector was experiencing some weakness.
"The real driver at the moment in Australia is that we're still seeing reasonably good demand but the unknown factor is the level of confidence and how confidence maintains," he said.
O'Malley said acquisitions were off the table during the financial crisis, with the company concentrating on maintaining a solid balance sheet.
"Given the current market uncertainties the primary focus, I think, for any company, and certainly for BlueScope, is to ensure the balance sheet strength is maintained," he said.
BlueScope is Australia's largest steel maker with operations across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Asia.
