| Taiwan’s Chung Hung lifts coil export prices on good demand | | Taiwanese re-roller Chung Hung Steel has lifted export prices of its hot rolled and cold rolled coils by $5-10/metric ton for November deliveries on strong demand, said a company official. The increase takes its prices to $570-580/mt FOB Taiwan for HRC and $670-680/mt FOB for CRC, according to the official.
Chung Hung also increased its domestic prices for October deliveries by TWD 500/mt ($17/mt), which takes its HRC and CRC prices to TWD 16,822-17,117/mt ($570-580/mt) and TWD 19,774-20,069/mt respectively, said the official.
The company experienced strong sales of close to 200,000 mt in September. “Both domestic and global demand is strong,” said the official. But sales volume in October is unlikely to be as high as September’s because users have mostly placed their orders last month, he said. Chung Hung’s total sales volume reached 178,326 mt in August.
The China Steel Corp affiliate has around 200,000 mt/month of hot rolling and 40,000-50,000 mt/month of cold rolling capacity at its Kaohsiung works in southern Taiwan. | | | | | | Poland hopes for stable coil price in Oct, likely dip in Nov | | Polish market participants are hoping for price stability for coils during October, but admit that some weakening is not absolutely out of the question, Platts was told this week.
A few sources noted the end of the third quarter was good, with an improvement in demand and some price recovery. “We saw a considerably bigger interest in the material from buyers,” a local distributor commented. The end-users managed to absorb higher outsell prices too, he added but was doubtful the recent upswing was sustainable.
Sources in the market said hot rolled coils bookings with local steelmakers failed to go up by €20/mt as targeted but still gained some €5-10/mt to settle at around €470/mt delivered. Although market players contacted by Platts did not have offers for November yet, they expect the mills to come out with the quotes matching previous transaction levels.
Ukraine’s Metinvest was heard to have sold large volumes of HRC to Poland last month with deals pegged at $580/mt (€429/mt) DAF for S235 grade and $100/mt more for CRC. One major stockist placed an order for Ilyich hot rolled sheets at €455/mt delivered.
Metinvest initially pushed for $25/mt hikes then lowered it to $15/mt and in the end managed to pass on $5-10/mt increase, a medium-size distributor noted. The impact of higher replacement cost from Ukraine was weaker due to the zloty climbing against the dollar.
Looking into Q4, market participants believed the price upturn was over for this year and some corrections were awaited later in the quarter, as usual for this time of the year. “I think we’re going to see price starting to decline in November. November rolling will be for delivery in the second half of December but who needs material then?,” one buyer summed up. | | | | | | Special report: Japan has new steel trading giant | | Japan’s steel trading community on Tuesday observed the birth of a new and powerful rival in their midst, Nippon Steel Trading & Sumikin Bussan Corp – though the impact could well be felt more strongly outside of Japan.
The October 1 merger of the trading arms of Japan’s largest integrated mill, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC), came exactly a year after Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals Industries amalgamated, and produced the country’s second-largest specialist steel trader.
In the year to last March, the country’s largest steel trader was Metal One Corp with total sales of Yen 2,305.7 billion ($23.5 billion). The combined sales of Nippon Steel Trading and Sumikin Bussan Corp reached Yen 1,815 billion, followed by JFE Shoji Trade at Yen 1,743 billion and Marubeni-Itochu Steel close behind at Yen 1,724 billion, company records show.
“Now the two (Nippon Steel Trading and Sumikin Bussan) have become one, they can start integrating their businesses and uniting their sales,” a source in Tokyo observed. “This should make their business much easier, because having two trading arms under the same parent company was too complicated.”
Meanwhile, the integration of operations abroad will start from January, Platts understands. For example, Nippon Steel Trading (Thailand) and Sumikin Bussan International (Thailand) will merge next January 2.
As part of the integration, coil centers abroad owned by Nippon Steel Trading and Sumikin Bussan can now share their customers, Platts was told. “Before the merger, these coil centers were arms of their competing parents,” an official from Nippon Steel Trading Bangkok said. “But now they are united, if the products of one don’t meet a customer’s requirement, it can introduce (another center) under the same umbrella.”
The overseas sales of the merged trader will be stronger and will allow NSSMC to expand its export business, a Tokyo-based trader said. “This has to be the main purpose of the (traders’) merger," he added. | Nippon Steel & Sumikin Bussan Corp | | | | | | | | | Capital | Yen 12.335 bn | | Head office | 8-5-27, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo | | Business lines | Steel, industrial machinery & infrastructure,
textiles, foodstuffs | | Employees (Consolidated base) | 7,674 | | Sales offices | Domestic: 32 | | | Overseas: 35 cities in 16 countries | | | | | | | Turkish producers’ HRC offer prices continue to soften | | Turkey’s hot rolled coil market softened further this week, as local producers’ prices slipped as low as $585/metric ton ex-works, due mostly to low domestic demand, sources informed Platts on Tuesday.
“HRC ex-works prices sank to the $590-595/mt level, while transacted prices for few large volumes are even below this level. However, demand is low and buyers still prefer to wait before placing orders, as they don’t want to enter the holiday period in mid-October with high stocks when market demand is low,“ a major service center executive observed.
“Most of the market participants’ price expectations are downward, even after the holiday period. I also don’t expect an upward price movement before mid-November. HRC investments lacking proper planning created excess supply in the market and this is raising the pressure on quotations, amid low-end use demand. Uncertainty caused by fluctuations in exchange rates is also increasing this pressure,” he added.
Other private Turkish center executives also slammed local producers’ sales strategies in the market. “Mills began to sell very low volumes of HRC to their customers from prices as low as $585-590/mt ex-works. This is putting more pressure everyday on service centers’ margins,” one claimed.
Turkish mills’ domestic HRC offers are now at $590-595/mt ex-works for November rolling, while Ukrainian mills were offering at $545-555/mt CFR Turkey, $5/mt lower than last week, and Russian offers were at $565-575/mt CFR, market participants told Platts. | | | | | | Venezuela’s Sidor operations halted again | | Workers at Venezuela’s largest integrated steelmaker Sidor decided to once again halt the mill's operations on Tuesday, saying the state-owned company failed to comply with the labor agreement settled over the weekend.
On Saturday, the workers' union Sutiss decided to end the 10-day strike after a promise of compensation for a miscalculation in worker benefits from 2008 on, and the government's promise to invest in mill operations.
However, on Monday Heber Aguilar, VP of state owner Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), denied such an agreement and said there is only a proposal, which needs to be approved by the country's president, Nicolás Maduro. After this speech, workers decided to put down their tools again.
Sidor's slab and billet production, as well as its flats and longs rolling mills are stopped. Pellet and DRI units, which were already operating at very limited levels due to some operational issues, were also halted.
Sidor has annual liquid steel production capacity of 5.1 million mt. It makes flats, longs and tubes. | | | | | | Sumitomo to buy Edgen Group for $520 milllion | | Japanese trading firm Sumitomo Corp. plans to acquire US energy and industrial pipe distributor Edgen Group Inc for $520 million in cash, the companies announced Tuesday.
“The investment in Edgen Group will represent further expansion of Sumitomo’s distribution presence across the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas markets, and other related energy and infrastructure segments and will complement Sumitomo’s integrated supply solutions to the growing energy market,” said Sumitomo Corporation of America CEO Kazuhiro Takeuchi.
The sale of the Louisiana-based company is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In 2012, Edgen had sales of over $2 billion. It operates 35 facilities in 18 countries. | | | | | | Nisshin, MISI and Worthington in China special sheet venture | | Nisshin Steel Holdings is to establish a re-rolling venture in China for specialty cold rolled coils and sheets mainly for automotive applications in partnership with Japanese trader Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc (MISI) and US steel processer Worthington Industries Inc.
The venture, Zhejiang Nisshin Worthington Precision Specialty Steel Co, will be located in Pingfu city, southwest of Shanghai, and will have a cold rolling capacity of 120,000 metric tons/year. The firm will be set up this December and production will start from October-December 2015, Nisshin said.
Majority owned by Nisshin with a 55% stake, MISI 35% and Worthington 10%, the venture will supply special steel such as high-carbon cold rolled sheet to Japanese, US and European auto parts makers in the country, Nisshin said. The hot rolled coil input will be shipped from Nisshin’s Kure works in Hiroshima, west Japan. Kure produced 3.28 million mt of crude steel in the fiscal year to last March.
“China is the largest auto market and demand for specialty steel is steadily growing,” a Nisshin spokesman said. Having Worthington as a partner will also help expand sales to non-Japanese auto parts makers, he added. Japanese steel producers are targeting east China’s growing auto market to expand their business and to help the automakers meet ever-rising ratios of locally-procured materials.
In May JFE Steel, together with MISI and Taiwanese drawn steel pipe maker, Shuan Hwa Industrial, revealed plans for a venture also in Zhejiang to produce small-diameter carbon steel ERW pipes and cold drawn pipes for Japanese and non-Japanese auto parts makers in eastern China. The venture, called Jianxiang JFE Precision Steel Pipe Co, will have a capacity of 2,000 metric tons/month and start operating from January 2015. | | | | | | Chinese pipe capacity exceeds 100 million mt/y: CSPA | | The China Steel Pipe Association (CSPA) told a conference attended by Platts on September 28 that China’s steel pipe industry has entered “deep autumn”, while China's total pipe making capacity now tops 107 million metric tons/year. The business situation of Chinese pipe mills is therefore likely to deteriorate further as "winter" is still approaching, added Zhong Xidi, a senior consultant at CSPA at the conference in eastern China’s Zhenjiang city.
Capacity for seamless pipe, which has reached 42 million mt/y, has doubled since 2007, Zhong said. However, this has led to capacity utilization falling from 87% in 2007 to only 67% last year, indicating serious overcapacity.
Over the same period, capacity for welded pipe jumped 141% from 27 million mt/y to 65 million mt/y, according to Zhong. Capacity utilization decreased from 2007’s 85% to 73% last year, also below the healthy standard of 75%.
Most domestic producers of oil country tubular goods, which were once regarded as high value-added products, are suffering from extremely low profit margins as China has built 70% of the world’s rolling mills in the last ten years, said Liu Yuwen, vice-director general of CSPA and former vice-general manager of Baosteel’s pipe division.
For example, China has built seven advanced seamless mills with diameter exceeding 460mm. These mills have total capacity of 4 million mt/y and are fighting for an estimated demand of just 400,000 mt/y of large-diameter and heavy-wall pipes, he figured.
Liu estimated the domestic seamless pipe industry could see more adjustments in two or three years after price competition and meager profits impact the sector further. | | | | | | Special report: China’s September steel PMI falls below 50 | | China’s steel manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reverted down by 4.2 points to 49.2 for September, indicating that “steel oversupply has worsened, and the industry’s recovery path will still be bumpy”, according to the committee authorized with tracking the country’s steel PMI.
However, in its report released Tuesday, the CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee (CSLPC) said it expected Chinese domestic steel prices to recover in mid- or late-quarter four on an improved national economy and accelerated infrastructure construction such as rail and road projects. In addition, oversupply may ease in Q4 as China’s steel output might decline as a consequence of Beijing’s efforts to rein in industries such as steel that it blames for environmental pollution, it added.
The country’s steel output sub-index rose by 1.1 from August to 53 in September and ended above the benchmark 50 for the third successive month. This reflected the fact that the Chinese mills boosted production since August on improving margins. The report disclosed that steelmakers’ blast furnace utilization ratio remained above 90% on average for September, and that for the 163 mills it surveyed was even higher at 91.7% by September 27.
The sub-index for new steel product orders, however, declined month-on-month for September, dropping 8.9 points to 49.2 and thus ending the continuous rise seen since April. The decline was partly due to mills' higher offer prices but also traders' weakening enthusiasm for buying, CSLPC explained.
Also, China’s steel export sub-index dropped by 7.8 points from August to 44.9 for September, a plunge that was due in part to “unsustainably high exports over July-August”, it added. For coming months, CSLPC predicted that Chinese exports will decline further as domestic mills might lose price competitiveness given their persisting high production costs.
Declining steel sales produced the largest increase among all indices; that for China’s finished steel inventories sub-index climbed by 14.8 points to 52.6 in September. | | | | | | Japan’s steel demand forecast to rise in October-December | | Japan’s steel demand in October-December should grow by 8% year-on-year to 27.97 million metric tons (crude steel equivalent), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (Meti) forecast on Tuesday. This would also represent a 0.4% rise from July-September.
Demand from construction is firm, supported by the order rush ahead of next April’s planned rise in the consumption tax, a Meti spokeswoman explained. In addition, production by Japanese manufacturers is recovering and this too will support total domestic demand.
Ordinary steel product demand from construction is forecast to grow by 4.8% y-o-y and by 1.4% q-o-q to 5.66 million mt, while that for manufacturing is predicted to reach 7.18 million mt, up by 3.7% from October-December last year and by 0.7% on July-September.
“Steel demand from shipbuilders is still low, but the size of the decline is becoming smaller,” the Meti spokeswoman said. Shipbuilding in Japan during October-December is forecast to consume 923,000 mt of steel, down 11.2% y-o-y but unchanged from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, total steel exports in the period are expected to rise 4% on-year but decrease by 4.6% from last quarter to 8.51 million mt. “Exports in the previous quarter were higher because of general delays to shipments during April-June for weather and other reasons, so we’re not concerned about the drop in October-December,” the spokeswoman explained.
Should Meti’s forecast be realized, Japan’s total crude steel production this calendar year will reach a healthy 110.55 million mt, up by about 3% on-year. "We thought earlier that steel production this year would be slightly lower or around the same as 2012,” a Tokyo-based trader said. “But the Japanese economy is improving thanks to the government’s stimulus measures and this is helping steel demand expand,” he said. | Japan's steel demand forecast for October-December | | | Unit: Million metric tons | | | | Total | Carbon steel | Special steel | Total finished
steel demand | 24.60 | 19.63 | 4.97 | | Change y-o-y | +5% | +3.2% | +12.8% | | Change q-o-q | -1.3% | -0.9% | -2.7% | | (For domestic sales) | 16.09 | 12.83 | 3.26 | | Change y-o-y | +5.5% | +4.1% | +11.4% | | Change q-o-q | +0.6% | +1.0% | -1.1% | | (For export) | 8.51 | 6.8 | 1.71 | | Change y-o-y | +4% | +1.4% | +15.6% | | Change q-o-q | -4.6% | -4.4% | -5.5% | | | | | | | Chinese flat/export prices to drop in October: Platts survey | | Market sentiment has turned negative in China and flat steel prices are expected to decline over coming months, according to respondents to Platts’ monthly Steel Sentiment Survey. Export prices were also expected to fall while domestic longs were thought to be more stable.
The survey is compiled with a similar methodology to a purchasing managers’ index, with a figure over 50 indicating an increase and a figure under 50 indicating decline. Mills and traders are asked about their expectations for steel production, inventories, orders and prices in the coming month.
Although most indicators fell, they largely indicated a stagnant market. But when asked about the outlook for domestic flats prices, all mills surveyed and all but one trader believed prices would drop. Longs prices, in contrast, were almost universally expected to remain fairly stable over the month.
Some traders reported that there could be some uptick in prices driven by restocking in the first week of trading after the National Day holidays (October 1-7), but any increase in prices was expected to reverse almost immediately.
Contrary to expectations, HRC and rebar prices lost around 4% and 6% to Yuan 3,470-3,500/mt and Yuan 3,370-3,380/mt respectively over September as an awaited demand recovery stubbornly refused to appear.
Export prices were weak in September and mills and traders expected further declines in the month to come. The key Southeast Asian markets have been very quiet and competition from countries with devalued currencies, such as India, and also from Japanese steelmakers has been intense.
The sub-index for production unexpectedly dipped under 50 for October, but only barely and almost all mills expected their output to remain stable for the month.
However, with the seven-day National Day holiday and weak demand cited, many mills expected their inventories to increase. In fact, the index for mill inventories was the only one to increase from September. The index for trader inventories fell but remained over 50, indicating some minor build-up. | | | | | | China’s Sept official PMI slightly higher at 51.1 | | China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose for the third successive month in September, climbing 0.1 of a point over the month to 51.1, according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics released Tuesday.
The official data was 0.9 of a point higher than the HSBC China PMI released Monday.
Both indices indicated that the country had achieved modest and steady economic growth over several months to September – as the central government had planned, Platts notes.
Among the sub-indices charted by the NBS, the index for output rose for the third consecutive month for September, up 0.3 of a point month-on-month to 52.9, the official data showed.
The index for new orders increased 0.4 of a point to 52.8, among which the index for the manufacturing industry’s new export orders rose 0.5 of a point to 50.7 – matching HSBC’s and confirming that Chinese manufacturing is recovering slowly.
The sub-index of raw materials inventories climbed as well, by 0.5 of a point to 48.5, according to the bureau’s figures. This was partly due to the fact that raw material purchase prices in China are on the rise.
The raw material purchasing sub-index increased by 1.3 points to 54.5, topping the benchmark 50 for the third successive month. The index for inventories of finished products dropped 0.2 of a point last month to 47.4, suggesting a healthy level. | | | | | | Turkey’s Atakas to build new CR mill and coating lines | | One of Turkey’s biggest mining and logistics companies, Atakas Group, is planning to build a new cold rolling mill and coating plant in Iskenderun, southern Turkey, Platts learned from Murtez Tulukoglu, project manager of the company, on Tuesday.
Atakas' new plant will have a 1 million metric tons/year pickling, 700,000 mt/y cold rolling, 350,000 mt/y galvanizing and 150,000 mt/y color-coating capacity.
“The negotiations with the plant equipment suppliers continue and we will probably sign a supply agreement in the coming months. We are targeting to complete the construction of the plant in two years’ time and begin production in late 2015,” Tulukoglu said.
The new cold rolling mill will probably be able to roll coils of 0.3-2mm thick and up to 1,530mm wide. It will also target export markets as well as domestic demand, Platts learned.
Atakas Group and Russian steel maker MMK built a strip product joint venture in Turkey under the name of MMK-Atakas and began production with a capacity of 2.5 million metric tons/year in 2007. However, MMK bought out Atakas’ 50% share of the company for $485 million in March 2011 and became the sole owner of what is now called MMK Metalurji. | | | | | | Habas to start hot strip mill trial production in March 2014 | | Turkish long steelmaker and slab producer Habas will enter the flat products market in early 2014 with its new hot strip mill at its site in Aliaga, Izmir, Platts learned from informed sources on Tuesday.
The company ordered a new continuous slab caster and hot strip mill from SMS Siemag in May last year. Construction of the rolling mill is nearly completed, with trial production scheduled for March 2014, Platts learned from a letter the company sent to its customers.
The initial 2.5 million metric tons/year capacity of the new hot strip mill can later be extended incrementally first to 3.5 million mt/y and then to 4.5 million mt/y, according to market requirements. Hot rolled coil widths will be in the range of 700-2,250mm, while thickness will be 1.2-25.4mm.
Habas’s new two-strand continuous slab caster has an annual production capacity of 2.5 million mt/y and will produce slabs in thicknesses of 200mm and 225mm, and in widths of 1,000mm-2,100mm.
Habas is one of the leading long steelmakers in Turkey, with a 3 million mt/y of liquid steel production capacity. The capacity of the company’s rebar mill is 1.9 million mt/y, while wire rod capacity is 500,000 mt/y. | | | | | | Flat product imports into Turkey fell 11% in August | | Turkish flat product imports | | | Metric tons. Source: TUIK | | | | August 2012 | August 2013 | % change | | Hot rolled | 315,027 | 272,530 | -14 | | Cold rolled | 53,062 | 49,262 | -8 | | Coated | 57,458 | 67,487 | +18 | | Narrow strip | 26,655 | 13,333 | -50 | | Total | 452,202 | 402,612 | -11 | Turkish flat product imports decreased 11% year on year in August to 402,612 metric tons; this was also down 23% from the 519,823 mt imported in the previous month, according to data from the Turkish statistical institute, TUIK. Turkish flat rolled steel imports thus reached 3.98 million mt in the first eight months of the year, up 24% year on year, with a particularly sharp spike in March and April.
Hot rolled flat steel imports were down significantly 14% year on year in August to 272,530 mt, due to low end-use demand in the domestic market. Ukraine (66,840 mt), France (65,502mt), Romania (47,776 mt) and Russia (42,140 mt) were the main sources.
Cold rolled product imports were down 8% y-o-y in August to 49,262 mt. Russia (17,855 mt), Germany (10,047 mt) and Belgium (3,556 mt) were the main origins.
However, coated sheet imports in that month increased notably by 18% to 67,487 mt. South Korea (16,123 mt), and European countries; Italy (6,608 mt), Belgium (6,466 mt) and France (6,090 mt) were the main sources. But imports of narrow strip below 600mm wide declined significantly 50% in August to 13,333 mt, according to TUIK data. | | | | | | Tata Steel increases UK sections prices again | | Tata Steel has increased its prices on all structural section products in the UK as tight supply in the market and improving demand continues to allow scope for price increases.
The £25/metric ton increase applies to all deliveries as of October 6 and comes on the back of a previous £25/mt rise in August. The general reaction in the market was positive with most saying there was room for another increase after the previous rise was passed on to buyers.
One UK-based trader said the increase would probably stick: “they probably will because of the availability being tight. These are genuine numbers going through based on supply and demand.”
Macroeconomic data for the UK has been improving far beyond what many in the industry had expected after years of doom and gloom since the financial crisis struck. But while some identified tightness in supply from Tata, improving demand was also reported.
“Tata have had a number of orders of rail and so a lot of their crude steel has gone to that, but there certainly seems to be some increase in infrastructure projects and demand has increased with that. We’re bullish on pricing,” another stockholder said. | | | | | | Kardemir increases bar prices, billet and bloom unchanged | | Turkish integrated long steelmaker Kardemir increased its bar prices for the domestic market as of October 1, due mostly to the weakening of the Turkish lira against dollar, Platts learned from the company. Kardemir’s new sales price for round bar is TRY 1,208/metric ton ($601) ex-works, up TRY 28/mt on its previous list price.
The company’s rebar price is also increased by the same amount to TRY 1,191/mt ($592) ex-works. The company’s billet price, however, remained at $517-522/mt ex-works, while its bloom price is still at $625/mt, Platts informed. All prices exclude 18% VAT.
Fellow longs producer Icdas also raised its domestic bar prices from September 30 for the same reason, as previously reported.
Kardemir plans to sell 471,500 metric tons of steel in the fourth quarter this year, Platts was informed. Kardemir is targeting sales of 224,750 mt of billet and bloom, 157,500 mt of rebar, 80,250 mt of rail and sections, and 9,000 mt of pig iron, equal to Q3 tonnages, on the basis of its price list for Q4. | | | | | | Saarstahl French wire unit threatened with closure: reports | | The French wire plant Sodetal, part of the Saarstahl group, employing over 300 workers is currently threatened with closure, according to local press reports quoting information transmitted by the trade unions.
This week the management of the unit, which has been applying temporary layoffs since the beginning of the year, organised an extraordinary meeting to discuss the situation of the plant, but the unions blocked the gathering as soon as they heard the closure of the plant was set to be announced. Saarstahl confirmed to Platts that a new meeting will be held next week, but did not comment on the potential closure of the unit.
Sodetal manufactures steel cord, wires and cables; most of its production is focused on tire cords for the automotive industry. Sodetal’s headquarter is in France but the company also has a unit in Slovakia. | | | | | | Special report: Outokumpu accelerates cost-cuts, closures | | Stainless steel producer Outokumpu is making further structural changes to its European operations aimed at improving its “unsustainably high” cost structure and pointing the heavily loss-making company in the direction of future profitability. The group is currently saddled with a net debt of around €3 billion.
The measures extend or modify the restructuring initiated when Outokumpu acquired German-based Inoxum at the end of 2012 and are aimed at achieving additional savings of more than €100 million annually.
Key features are an acceleration of the Bochum meltshop closure in Germany to 2014 instead of the provisional end-2016 date, cutting annealing and pickling capacity in Tornio, Finland by 200,000 metric tons/year and cold rolling capacity in Germany by 300,000-350,000 mt/y, closing service centres in Barcelona and in Langenhagen, Germany, and implementing a leaner organisation and overheads.
Announcing the move yesterday, Outokumpu CEO Mika Seitovirta said the Tornio works will focus on high volume standard grades, while Germany will be the cold rolling centre for premium products for more demanding applications. “We will reduce production capacity to increase utilization rates and discontinue the least profitable sales,” he said.
The majority of current production at 800,000 mt/y capacity Bochum will be transferred to Tornio by the end of 2014, leaving Outokumpu Nirosta with Krefeld and Dillenburg. They will have a combined annual cold rolling capacity of 450,000-500,000 metric tons.
This German capacity is significantly lower than in the original restructuring. The 220,000 mt/y Benrath rolling mill will still be closed but capacity transfer will not now boost Krefeld’s output, which is now aiming for a slimmed down capacity of 340,000 mt/y (440,000 mt/y at the time of the takeover). The previously announced expenditure of €240 million for transferring Benrath’s capacity to Krefeld has been scaled back to €100 million.
Meanwhile the Dillenburg rolling mill, currently rated at 230,000 mt/y, will in future be a maximum of 160,000 mt/y. Lower capacities in Germany are designed to meet the current and expected demand for these mills’ products. “Overall we see that with this capacity we can serve our customer base with a more efficient production structure,” a spokesperson told Platts.
Outokumpu believes there is currently more than 1.5 million mt/y of excess cold rolling capacity in Europe, and that this, plus imports from Asia, continue to put pressure on prices and profitability. “There are no signs of a material improvement in the market environment,” it stated. | | | | | | Sweden escapes Seitovirta’s stainless axe | | Outokumpu’s Swedish operations appear to have emerged unscathed from the company’s announcement of additional structural changes to its European operations (see related article), although the strategic review of the cold rolling operations at Kloster and Nyby is continuing, with decisions on their future likely by year-end.
The 500,000 metric tons/year Avesta site is described as having an important role in the company’s melting and special grades strategy, and is a key site for specialty grades r&d.
The Degerfors quarto plate and long products operations have also escaped the axe. Outokumpu said they have a key role in its specialty stainless business.
Already announced strategic reviews of the Dahlerbrück precision strip and VDM units in Germany continue, with decisions expected later this quarter.
Asked about progress on the sale of Terni in Italy, an Outokumpu spokesperson said there was no new information. | | | | | | EU mills expected to pay less for scrap in early October | | Domestic scrap markets across Europe are expected to see prices fall in the first half of October, due to some negative sentiment in the international market and uncertainty over Q4 production at steel mills.
"For the first 15 days of October the signals of a slight price decrease are now certain," a leading scrap dealer said Tuesday, adding that the Spanish and Italian markets were already falling in a correction expected all over Europe.
Domestic prices in Spain, one of the biggest markets in terms of scrap demand, fell €10/mt to €275-280/mt delivered for shredded (E40) last week. Other markets are still assessing the situation, with scrap merchants saying Tuesday that a €5-10/mt correction is likely in major consuming countries such as France and Germany.
Tom Bird, president of the European arm of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), said in the body's latest market report: "Market conditions over the last couple of weeks suggest levels are down around $15 per tonne based on the latest batch of sales, and softening markets have been seen generally across the EU."
The Swedish market, among the first to settle the monthly price, saw its October HMS1 domestic price tumble by SEK 100/mt (€11.6/mt)compared with September, according to the country's local scrap procurement group. In contrast, September was stable compared with August.
In Italy, where recent troubles at the EAF-based units of steel giant Riva generated some uncertainty during the second half of September, scrap levels are relatively stable at €285-295/mt delivered for E40. But signs of weakness have been reported by sources, with some mills decreasing their buying contracts by €5-10/mt at the end of September. | | | | | | Billet sales ex-CIS flattish on-week for October output | | Sales of billet ex-CIS have been at flat levels from the Black Sea so far this week, taking place at around the level of $495/metric ton FOB Azov/Black Sea ports to traders and Turkey for October production, market participants told Platts.
One 6,000 mt shipment of October output was concluded at $495/mt FOB Nikolayev, while a second, 15,000 mt, cargo was understood to have been sold to north Turkey for November arrival from the same mill in Ukraine, market participants said.
In terms of mills' October output schedules, some producers without access to their own raw materials are cutting back production; others are trying to hold prices steady, and argue that the most recent scrap sales to Turkey have been pushed through at marginally higher levels on-week.
Platts daily assessment steadied at $495/mt FOB Black Sea ports, down $1/mt on-day.
Other producers looking to sell in smaller cargoes were asking for $493/mt FOB Mariupol on pre-payment basis. One of Saudi Arabia's largest re-rollers was bidding at just below $495/mt FOB Black Sea, while other markets were bidding between $490-495/mt FOB Black Sea ports. | | | | | | CIS mills cut engineering bar prices for October | | Russian producers of engineering steel bars admitted this week that the home market is recoiling to August levels, down from September on somewhat excessive supply. Some mills already reduced their domestic prices for October production of hot rolled bar by 600-800 rubles/metric ton or 3-4% depending on diameters from September, as one of the mills has completed maintenance and ramped up production, distributors and producers told Platts. Other producers are considering similar price cuts.
The price range for September deliveries dropped to 17,300-17,500 rubles/mt ($535-541/mt) for 32-80mm diameter carbon steel bar, and 17,000-17,100/mt for 120-180mm diameters, all on ex-works basis excluding 18% VAT. One source admitted his mill would only sell at these lower levels to a bulk buyer who orders 3,000 mt minimum, whilst 1,000 mt orders would cost 1,000 rubles/mt more meaning that smaller buyers are unlikely to sense any price cuts.
A.K. Serov Iron & Steel Plant in the Urals has ramped up bar production after it completed eight-day maintenance on its reheating furnaces last month. As this has increased October supply and pressure on the market, September price levels have not been maintained in October, slipping back to August levels.
That said, if denominated in dollars, October prices for hot rolled bars in Russia have softened by $5-7/mt that is 1% only month on month due to the weakening of the ruble against the dollar over 19 September-1 October, Platts calculated. | | | | | | Severstal's CherMK to raise slag processing capacity | | West Russia’s Cherepovets Iron & Steel Works (CherMK), part of Severstal, has contracted Ecofer Investment of Finland to build crushing and screening machines for converter slag recycling, said Severstal.
The project represents an investment of 340 million rubles ($10.5 million) and is designed to process CherMK’s entire output of converter slag – up to 2.1 million metric tons/year, transforming it into roadstone and magnetite-containing material. The latter will return into the production cycle to be used as a cheaper iron ore and scrap substitute in sinter, pig iron and steel making.
Once commissioned in 2014, the new slag treatment unit will replace the old No.1 machine and will have double the output. The new machine will thus be the only steel slag treatment facility at CherMK although the mill has four more waste recycling units including one for blast furnace slag.
Severstal’s spokesperson refused to specify the amount of magnetite-containing material due to be obtained from 2.1 million mt/year of slag, saying only that the steelworks is seeking to increase the intake of scrap substitutes in its pursuit of greater efficiency. As previously reported, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works operates four slag treatment units together able to reclaim 1 million mt/year of magnetite-containing material from 9 million mt/year of waste. | | | | | | Subscriber note: Russian domestic sheet, rebar assessments | Platts is inviting all interested parties to comment on proposals to launch two new price assessments for the Russian domestic steel market. The new assessments will focus on the weekly ruble transaction value of commodity grades 2-4 mm hot rolled sheets and 12-16mm rebar, both CPT Moscow area. Please send any questions or comments to Katya.Bouckley@platts.com, Emanuele.Norsa@platts.com and cc: pricegroup@platts.com by October 4. | | | | | | US HRC still at $640-650/st | | | | | | | | CRC level at $745-755/st in US | | | | | | | | AK, USS announce price hikes, market remains wary | | At least two more US producers are now increasing flat-rolled steel offers after NLMK and ArcelorMittal announced separate price-hike attempts earlier this week, market sources said Tuesday.
AK Steel and US Steel have upped their hot-rolled coil prices to $680/st and their cold-rolled coil prices to $790/st. AK’s increase was announced in a release, while market sources confirmed that US Steel had upped its prices via client calls. Both increases were in line with ArcelorMittal’s price hike. NLMK announced the slightly lower levels of $670/st for HRC and $770/st for CRC.
A mill source characterized the hikes as inevitable, given the strength in the automotive end-use market and tight sheet inventories. “There’s a lot of good things from all the little factors,” he said. “Nothing great, but nothing to take the price down. It needs to stay up there, and there’s enough reasons for it to stay up there.”
The source conceded, however, that it’s unlikely the increase will push pricing much higher than its current levels of $640-650/st for HRC and $745-755/st for CRC, normalized to a Midwest (Indiana) ex-works basis. “I bet you we get a little increase out of it, not the whole thing,” he said.
At least two buyers, however, were less optimistic. A trader said he doesn’t expect the increase will move the market at all due to regular fourth-quarter sluggishness, and a service center executive said he expects there will be a “buying frenzy” at current pricing, giving buyers no future incentive to purchase once the price hikes sink into the market. | | | | | | Ahmsa starts maintenance program on cold-rolling line | | Mexican integrated steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (Ahmsa) started a maintenance program on its cold-rolling line at mill No. 1 in its steel complex in Monclova, in the northern state of Coahuila.
The program "was divided into three stages beginning September 30 and is scheduled to end in the second half of October," the company said. The pickling line will be the first to resume operations and will restart during the first weekend of October.
Ahmsa said this program will require an investment of Peso 27 million ($2.05 million).
The company produces cold-rolled, pickled, tempered, annealed and tinplate products from its cold-rolling area. | | | | | | Olympic Steel announces new management roles | | Cleveland-based distributor Olympic Steel Inc. has named Raymond Walker to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer of flat-rolled products.
Walker has been with Olympic Steel since 1986 and most recently he served as senior VP for the eastern region. In his new role, he will be responsible for the daily operations of the company's flat-rolled business and will continue to report to David Wolfort, Olympic Steel's president and COO. John Mooney has been promoted to VP for the eastern region and will report to Walker.
"Over the past several years we have strategically diversified the company's product offerings, broadened its geographic reach and expanded into higher-margin markets. As we transition from this multi-year capital investment program to executing on these fronts, we are very fortunate to have proven managerial talent already in place to drive future growth," said Olympic Steel CEO Michael Siegal. | | | | | | Mexican construction sector activity steady in July | | Activity in Mexico's construction sector dropped just 0.85% in July compared with June, according to the national survey of construction companies released monthly by the Mexican institute of statistics and geography, Inegi. On a year-on-year basis, sector activity decreased 4.1%.
Inegi said that in July construction activity in both buildings (including houses and industrial and commercial buildings) and transportation (highways, streets and railways, etc.) plunged by 9.5% and 12.4%, respectively, year on year. Buildings and transportation are the main drivers of the Mexican construction sector and together accounted for 66.9% of activity in July.
The private sector was responsible for 51% of construction activity in July, while the public sector represented the other 49%.
Market sources recently contacted by Platts said they don't believe construction demand will reheat before 2014, despite the planned investment of Mexican Peso 4 trillion ($304 billion) in infrastructure promised in June by the government for the 2013-2018 period.
According to sources, the launch of new projects is still virtually nonexistent, and there will not be enough time to accelerate the pace before year-end.
Mexico's construction sector - the main driver of long steel demand in the country - has been stagnant since the country's new president took office in December, sources said. The lack of investments in infrastructure and new construction projects has been impacting consumption and prices of longs, mainly rebar. | | | | | | Northwest considering changes to OCTG business | | Northwest Pipe Co. of the US is mulling the future of its OCTG business, which could potentially include “acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures,” the company said in a release Tuesday.
“The decision to evaluate options for our OCTG business follows a comprehensive review of the company’s strategy, asset base and future direction with our board of directors,” said CEO Scott Montross.
“Our long-term desire is to sharpen our focus on growing our core water transmission business through organic initiatives like the recent $12 million investment in our Saginaw, Texas facility as well as through acquisitions.”
Montross noted that any potential change to its energy tubulars business will not change its “commitment and continued investment and expansion” at its Atchison, Kansas works.
The company has spent over $35 million upgrading the Atchison facility, and expects to wind up its most recent investment of $15 million in the first quarter of 2014. | | | | | | Webco takes hit on yearly, quarterly profits | | Sand Springs, Oklahoma, tubing firm Webco Industries Inc. recorded a more than 60% dip in profits year-on-year due to weak pricing and an unfavorable product mix, the company said in its year-end earnings statement.
In its fiscal year ended July 31, Webco recorded net profit of $5.8 million on $413.7 million in sales. In 2012, the company yielded net profit of $14.6 million on sales of $526.8 million.
Fiscal fourth quarter profits also suffered. The company recorded Q4 profits of $1.7 million on sales of $110.4 million, compared with $3.2 million on sales of $135.5 million in Q4 of fiscal 2012.
“The greatest factors affecting both the quarterly and year comparisons are lower volume, less favorable product mix and weak spot pricing,” said CEO Dana Weber. “We are having success adding incremental business, but the industrial economy in general is challenging and competitive. We hope for the return of more favorable business conditions in calendar year 2014.” | | | | | | Carpenter inks 10-year supply deal with United Technologies | | Carpenter Technology Corp, of the US has reached a 10-year supply agreement with United Technologies Corp.'s aerospace units, including Pratt & Whitney.
They will buy Carpenter's alloy steel bar/billet, nickel superalloy billet, stainless bar and billet, and strip laminate products. The new deal could generate sales in excess of $600 million over the course of the agreement.
Carpenter already supplies UTC's aerospace businesses with a portion of its overall demand for nickel, stainless and strip laminate products.
| | | | | | Kloeckner consolidates northeastern, western US operations | | Metals distribution chain Kloeckner Metals said Tuesday it plans to consolidate its facilities in the northeastern and western US to “realize synergies from the integration of MacSteel Service Centers USA and Namasco Corporation,” the company stated.
To accomplish the integration, Kloeckner will shift inventory and equipment from its Bensalem, Pennsylvania facility to its York, Pennsylvania and New Castle, Delaware facilities.
Additionaly, it will shutter its Portland, Oregon; Oakland, California, and Los Angeles locations. The assets of the Los Angeles branch will be moved to a plate-processing facility about 15 miles away in Santa Fe Springs, California and additional plate processing equipment will be installed in its Tulare, California facility to make up for the loss of the Oakland capabilities.
“These changes eliminate duplication in capacity, streamline our supply chain and provide a broader product offering to better service our customer base in these respective regions,” said Kloeckner CEO Bill Partalis.
The changes are expected to be completed by the end of the year. | | | | | | Continued US government shutdown could hurt steel industry | | The government shutdown that began Tuesday is beginning to have an effect on the steel industry’s advocacy efforts, and if prolonged, market sources believe the shutdown could impact downstream demand for steel.
Tom Gibson, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said nonessential meetings addressing trade issues will be postponed because of furloughed government staffs. This government shutdown and the forthcoming debt ceiling clash “rob us of time to deal with Congress on these issues,” he said.
The US International Trade Commission’s website said the hearing for the sunset review of hot-rolled coil duties scheduled October 3 will occur if the ITC resumes operations by October 2, and if not, the hearing will be rescheduled.
A source close to the situation said a rescheduled hearing would be a “major inconvenience” for all the witnesses who planned to attend. He said US Customs and Border Protection will continue to collect duties during the shutdown, but “all the current trade investigations stop, in essence, because the deadlines are delayed.”
Platts was unable to report on August’s construction spending or September’s steel import licenses on Tuesday because the US Census Bureau’s and Department of Commerce’s Steel Import Monitor’s websites were down. The Federal Register also cited the appropriations lapse as justification for not updating its website.
“Having that data is a core function of government,” Gibson said, adding that while not having a week’s worth of data will probably not hurt AISI’s advocacy agenda, if the shutdown is prolonged, there could be long-term implications. In addition to direct spending, the longer the government is at an impasse, the more of an effect there will be on consumer confidence, he said.
AISI joined 250 organizations in a letter to Congress sent before the shutdown calling for uninterrupted government funding as well as action to raise the national debt limit.
The Associated General Contractors of America released a statement on Tuesday that said the absence of spending data could foreshadow a drop in federal construction spending until the end of the shutdown.
“Depending on how long the government is closed, construction workers are likely to miss out on new job opportunities,” Stephen E. Sandherr, AGC’s CEO said in a statement. “This shutdown poses a real risk of undermining the industry's long-awaited recovery.”
An AGC spokesman added that federal employees oversee many construction sites – coordinating with contractors and signing off on change orders. The longer the shutdown, the more questions go unanswered, and projects could get delayed. | | | | | | US DOC votes to extend CVD orders on rod, welded pipe | | The US Department of Commerce ruled that revoking the countervailing duty orders on certain carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Brazil and Chinese circular welded carbon quality steel pipe will likely lead to continuation or recurrence of the subsidies.
Net countervailable subsidies for Brazilian wire rod range from 2.31% for Gerdau S.A. to 6.74% for Companhia Siderurgica Belgo-Mineira. The "all others" rate is 4.53%.
The DOC reported net countervailable subsidy rates for Chinese circular welded carbon quality pipe makers are 29.83%-620.08%. | | | | | | US manufacturing PMI expands for fourth straight month | | ISM manufacturing report | | | September 2013 | | | | September | August | Change | | PMI | 56.2 | 55.7 | +0.5 | | New orders | 60.5 | 63.2 | -2.7 | | Production | 62.6 | 62.4 | +0.2 | | Employment | 55.4 | 53.3 | +2.1 | | Supplier deliveries | 52.6 | 52.3 | +0.3 | | Inventories | 50.0 | 47.5 | +2.5 | | Customers' inventories | 43.0 | 42.5 | +0.5 | | Prices | 56.5 | 54.0 | +2.5 | | Backlog of orders | 49.5 | 46.5 | +3.0 | | Exports | 52.0 | 55.5 | -3.5 | | Imports | 55.0 | 58.0 | -3.0 | Manufacturing activity in the US expanded in September for the fourth consecutive month, with the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rising to 56.2 last month from 55.7 in August.
September's PMI reading - a leading indicator of economic health - was the highest of the year, the ISM said in a report released Tuesday, even as the US faced its first government shutdown in 17 years.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below indicates contraction.
ISM's manufacturing production index edged up by 0.2 points to 62.6 in September, but the new orders index fell by 2.7 points to 60.5. The inventories index stood at 50 in September, compared with 47.5 in August.
ISM's backlog of orders index, meanwhile, came in at 49.5 in September. While this was higher than the 46.5 recorded in August, September marked the fifth consecutive month of contracting order backlogs.
"Comments from the panel are generally positive and optimistic about increasing demand and improving business conditions," said Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the ISM's manufacturing business survey committee.
ISM's new export orders index stood at 52 in September, down 3.5 points from August, while the imports index stood at 55 in September, compared with 58 in August. | | | | | | HRC shortage in Chile lifts domestic sections prices | | Chile's market for light sections formed from hot-rolled coil is being impacted by the lack of domestic HRC supply, according to distributors. The sole domestic source of HRC was CAP Acero - the Huachipato mill operated by CAP in the city of Talcahuano - and it stopped producing the product in July.
The company also quit producing cold-rolled coil and zincalume last year.
According to sources, CAP Acero was still delivering small amounts of HRC from its inventories at the end of September, but the supply was about to run out. Because of this, many service centers that are focused on fabricated light sections - such as angles and beams - turned to Chinese imports of HRC to meet their needs.
"This generated a supply problem due to the long delivery time from China to Chile. With a reduced amount of HRC in the market, the service centers elevated the price of sections made from this product," explained a distributor. Two other distributor sources confirmed his observation.
Over the last 45 days, sections prices have risen by 20-30%, depending on the product, volume ordered and supplying service center. Light sections currently are priced at Chile Peso 550,000-580,000/mt ($1,090/mt-1,150/mt). The main domestic producers of these products are Cintac, a service center that is part of CAP, Grupo VH and Perfimet.
Market sources believe sections prices can return to previous levels in October or November, when HRC imports reach a sustainable pace to properly supply the Chilean market. "When the situation returns to normal, service centers will reduce the price to what it always was and probably keep it stable," said a source.
Platts calculated the previous price of light sections at an average of Peso 450,000/mt ($893/mt). | | | | | | Gerdau considers Brazil tax laws to be major bottleneck | | Gerdau's board president Jorge Gerdau identified Brazilian tax laws as the main competitive bottleneck in the country, followed by energy and infrastructure. These are responsible for Brazil’s deindustrialization, he said during a speech last Thursday at the first awards meeting of the Brazilian association of re-rollers and bright drawn steel producers Sicetel.
Figures from the country’s ministry of development and industry (Mdic) show that manufactured products, including steel, answered for 55% of Brazil's exports in 2002. This percentage fell to 37%in the first six months of 2013.
“Manufactured products once answered for 32% of GDP. Now they are around 22% to 24%,” Gerdau noted.
The executive also said that, excluding taxes, Brazil is the lowest cost producer of hot-rolled coil when compared with Russia, Germany, the US, Turkey and China. It also is the third lowest in cost to produce rebar, behind Russia and the US. However, with the addition of taxes, these Brazilian products become more expensive than those from competing countries.
“Brazil’s tax laws are the more serious problem we face in the country. There are many cumulative taxes in the production chain, elevating costs,” Gerdau said.
Sicetel president Danieli Pesteli also brought up the subject of Brazil’s high tax system just prior to Gerdau’s presentation.
“We have to look after all the links of the (production) chain as a whole, not only for a part of it,” Pesteli said. | | | | | | Egypt's Ezz keeps rebar prices at lowest in more than a year | | Egypt’s largest steel maker and price trend-setter Ezzsteel kept rebar quotes for October delivery unchanged because of stretched inventory levels after the social unrest subsided to make way for a recovery in construction.
Ezzsteel last cut its rebar prices in August when it slashed them by EGP 200/metric ton to EGP 4,800/mt ($696). It maintained late on Monday the ex-works offered prices, which include a 9% sales tax, at their lowest since at least October 2012.
A trader said that the upheaval in the past months strained operations for many steelmakers who had difficulties sourcing raw material, a situation that has stretched inventories. A strike at Suez Steel, the nation’s second-largest steelmaker, ended on August 22 after the military “insisted” on workers resuming work following a month-long halt in production.
Meanwhile, rebar imports from Turkey remained low ever since a 200-day tariff of 6.8% lapsed in June because of the pending ruling on a dumping case currently investigated by the government. Market participants say importers are worried they may be taxed retroactively if and when the levy is reinstated.
Turkish producers were offering late last week shipments at $587/mt CIF Egypt, $13 less than a month ago and more than $107 cheaper than Ezzsteel at yesterday’s exchange rates.
Ezzsteel also kept unchanged its hot rolled coil offered prices in the local market for October bookings at EGP 4,773/mt ($692) ex-works, including 11% sales tax. | | | | | | Afferro Mining to delist from AIM, resolves compliance issue | | Africa-focused iron ore explorer Afferro Mining said Tuesday that it intends to delist from both the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and Canda’s TSX Venture Exchange, following the recent board approval of International Mining & Infrastructure Corporation’s (IMIC) 100% acquisition of the company.
The withdrawal from the two exchanges, as with the acquisition, is subject to final regulatory approvals. The cancellation of the two listings is expected to take place by the end of October.
Afferro has also issued an amended technical report to address regulators’ complaints about previous disclosures. The review by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) stated that there was non-compliance in the miner’s technical reports. Afferro said that “these issues have been addressed in the Amended Technical Report”.
The issues included a failure to include disclosure of a (new) preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and that it was “implied [in the report] that the quantities are potentially economic, which is inappropriate for a conceptual estimate”.
A spokesman at Afferro told Platts that the resource estimates remain the same and the PEA itself remains the same, the only issue was that according to compliance rules, another, new PEA would have had to be produced. He said that in order to avoid the unnecessary expense of this, especially given that the company will cease to exist as a separate entity very shortly, the company has been allowed to use the original PEA from 2011 instead.
Afferro owns the Nkout, Ntem and Akonolinga iron ore projects in Cameroon, plus a 70% interest in the Ngoa project that borders Nkout. | | | | | | More US companies expect lower prices; Europeans upbeat: TSI | | Price expectations of US companies | ©SBB 2013 | | % of respondents | | | | Higher prices | Unchanged | Lower prices | | W/C 23 Sep | 11% | 42% | 47% | | W/C 16 Sep | 3% | 76% | 21% | | Change w/w | +8% | -34% | +26% | There was a steep rise in the number of US respondents which expected lower prices in the next three months, according to the latest carbon steel market survey results from The Steel Index (TSI). However, more European companies expect prices to rise than fall, though the proportion was slightly lower compared to the week before. Half of European companies predicted unchanged demand and a third of the respondents expected higher offtake. Demand expectations among US companies fell, though a majority of respondents expected stable offtake. The majority of companies reported stable stocks compared to the previous week. 47% of US companies expect lower prices in the next three months, up from 21%, with 42% foreseeing stable prices, down from 76%. (See table.)38% of European respondents expect higher prices, down from 42%, while 44% predict stable prices, up from 39%. Among companies globally, 30% predict higher prices, up from 21%, while 29% expect lower prices, up from 20%. 34% of respondents in Europe expect higher demand in the next three months, up from 29%, while 50% expect demand to be stable, down from 55%. 16% of companies in North America expect higher demand, down from 48%, with 53% foreseeing stable demand, up from 31%. The number of companies globally expecting higher demand fell to 30% from 34%, with 50% predicting steady offtake, up from 47%. 59% of companies globally noted stable inventory compared to a week earlier, down from 61%, with 26% showing lower inventory, up from 23%. 67% of North American respondents reported stable steel inventories, down from 69%, while 17% had lower stocks, down from 23%. For European companies, 52% noted stable stocks, down from 59%, and 28% had lower stock levels, down from 21% in the previous survey. More information about TSI, a specialist pricing unit within Platts, is available on its website www.thesteelindex.com . | | | | | | Exports, imports see modest gains in Jan-June 2013 | | Steel exports, January-June | | | Thousand metric tons. Source: ISSB | | | | 2012 | 2013 | % change | | EU 27 | 18,823.1 | 18,764.3 | -0.3 | | Turkey | 9,408.4 | 9,353.9 | -0.6 | | CIS | 28,369.9 | 26,321.2 | -7.2 | | N. America | 12,355.1 | 11,854.5 | -4.1 | | S. America | 5,800.8 | 4,915.2 | -15.3 | | S. Africa | 1,221.9 | 739.8 | -39.5 | | Asia | 73,556.4 | 78,759.9 | +7.1 | | Oceania | 531.6 | 639.9 | +20.4 | | Total of above | 150,067.2 | 151,348.7 | +0.85 | Global steel imports and exports both showed modest rises in the first half of this year, according to data provided to Platts by the London-based International Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB).
Combined exports of countries covered by the report increased by 0.85% from the first half of 2012 to stand at 151 million metric tons. Most regions exported less steel this year than last.
The main exception was Asia, where exports increased by more than 5 million mt or 7%. Within this, China’s exports rose by more than 3 million mt to top 30 million mt. Exports also rose from India, Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan, but Korea exported less.
Imports of the countries covered edged 0.9% higher to 103.1 million mt. Increases were reported for the European Union, the CIS, South America, South Africa and Asia. Turkey’s imports jumped by nearly 30% largely because of a surge in inflows of semi-finished products.
An import decrease was recorded by North America, where US imports dropped more than 10% and Mexican imports fell 17%.
South Africa saw its exports drop nearly 40% while imports surged 72%. Plant breakdowns caused a loss of production in the country, and mills and users turned to imports to make up the shortfall.
The statistics include semis, long and flat rolled products, and tubes. Asian data in both tables include India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. South America includes Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. CIS covers Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. | Steel imports, January-June | | | Thousand metric tons. Source: ISSB | | | | 2012 | 2013 | % change | | EU 27 | 14,396.0 | 14,919.5 | +3.6 | | Turkey | 5,398.6 | 6,995.2 | +29.6 | | CIS | 5,653.0 | 5,891.6 | +4.2 | | N. America | 25,150.1 | 22,282.5 | -11.4 | | S. America | 4,437.4 | 4,473.6 | +0.8 | | S. Africa | 559.7 | 966.9 | +72.8 | | Asia | 45,039.8 | 46,209.4 | +2.6 | | Oceania | 1,570.9 | 1,399.6 | -10.9 | | Total of above | 102,205.6 | 103,138.5 | +0.9 | | | | |  |
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