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voda 3 februari 2016 17:10

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Workers occupy ILVA steel plant in Genoa

Local media reported that steel workers in Genoa, Italy, occupied their factory in opposition to insecurity at work as a result of management corruption. Workers stopped work and blocked traffic, cutting the city in half.

When it was closed on the order of a judge for causing environmental damage, the ILVA steel plant in Taranto was the biggest in Europe. The parent ILVA group, which owns several other plants in Italy, was the largest in Europe, employing a total of 14,000 workers. Current figures suggest it is no longer the number one steel producer, and production has halved since the court order.

By government decree, the plants have to be sold by the end of June. Any offers must be received by February 20 but nothing concrete has emerged so far, even though the government has allocated €800 million for the environmental rehabilitation of the Taranto plant. Meanwhile, the group’s competitors in Europe have pushed the European Commission to open an inquiry into ILVA and the state subsidies it receives. The most persistent in asking for the Commission’s intervention has been one of ILVA’s major rivals, the German steel group ThyssenKrupp.

According to many commentators, the closure or at least the reduction of the production capacity of the ILVA group could solve the structural overproduction problems of the European steel sector, with enormous advantages for its competitors, which are already threatened by the low cost of Chinese steel.

Steel is a bloody business, especially in Italy. According to the prosecutor who brought the Taranto case to court, the pollution from the plant causes more than 1,600 deaths a year and several thousand illnesses. The plant also holds the horrible record of being the most deadly workplace in Europe, with the most recent victim dying in November.

Nevertheless, the biggest massacre committed by the European steel industry in recent times did not take place in Taranto but in Turin. In 2007, seven workers were killed in a fire that broke out in the ThyssenKrupp plant due to the lack of safety measures. Six managers were convicted and are currently waiting for the final judgement. The Italian courts have already reduced the initial sentences for all six, enraging the relatives of the victims.

This rage exploded again when, incredibly, the Italian state commissioners in charge of running the plant until it is sold appointed one of the convicted managers to be ILVA’s new general director. Marco Pucci has been sentenced to 6 years and 10 months, and will probably go to jail in June when the trial ends. After the protests that followed his appointment, he made the decision to resign from the job.

The future of the ILVA group remains highly uncertain and, after repeated protests that have lasted years, the workers of the Genoa plant, organized by the FIOM union, voted on January 25 to occupy the factory. They accuse the government of trying to sell the group’s plants without any consideration for the preservation of jobs or livelihoods. They stopped the machinery all day, and blocked traffic into and around the plant’s neighbourhood, cutting the city in half. They demand a meeting with the Minister for Economic Development, and that the Minister commit to making sure the new owners of the plant, whoever they turn out to be, respect an agreement signed in 2005 to assure the plant’s future. An agreement, the workers say, that the government is trying to dismiss in order to sell ILVA off to the highest bidder.

Source : Libcom.org

voda 3 februari 2016 17:12

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EU approves acquisition of Condesa by consortium

The European Commission has given the green light to the acquisition of Spanish group Condesa by nine Spanish financial institutions and ArcelorMittal, after checking that the operation is in line with the Community rules on mergers. The EU executive said in a statement “The Commission has concluded that the proposed acquisition does not involve competition concerns because it would significantly change the market structure.”

ArcelorMittal and a group made up of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Banco de Sabadell , Banco Santander, Banco Popular Espanol , Bankia, Caixabank, Bankinter caja , Caja Rural de Navarra and Kutxabank to jointly acquire steel tube maker Grupo Condesa

The Condesa small group produces welded carbon steel.

Brussels examined the transaction through a simplified procedure, which applies when, a priori, that the transaction will not lead to competition problems in the European Union.

History

In 1954 the present Grupo Condesa (Conducciones y Derivados S.A.) was founded in Mondragón (Spain), focusing its activity manufacturing steel tubes.

In 1972 Condesa Fabril was created in Legutiano (Spain).

In 1985 Tubos del Mediterráneo (Tumesa) (Spain) was created.

In 1992 Usinor joined with shares in Condesa and introduced Tubos del Celrá (Spain) to the group.

Conducciones y Derivados, S.A. (Condesa), was established as the “holding” company –among other companies- of 3 manufacturing companies (Condesa Fabril, Tumesa and Tubos de Celrá).

In 1997 the Group invested heavily to develop structural tubes at its Condesa Fabril, Tumesa and Tubos de Celrá facilities.

In 2000 Condesa Comercial 2000 (Spain), was founded it includes the whole international and national commercial network.

In 2004 Condesa Central Financiera (Spain) was founded. In 2007, it chaged its name to Condesa Central Compras.

From 1992 until 2004 Condesa was associated with Arcelor. In 2004 Condesa bought Arcelor’s tube manufacturing plants in Europe, Arcelor Tubes and Aceralia Tubos: Perfil en Frío (Spain), Zalain Transformados (Spain), Mieres Tubos (Spain), Alessio Tubi (Italy), Longtain (Belgium), Tubes de Fresnoy (France), Lorraine Tubes , ex-Tubeurop and ex-Exma Production, (France), SRW (Germany), Industube (Morocco). The group has now become leader of the European Market for carbon welded steel.

In 2005 Condesa Sistemas de Información (Spain) was created.

From 2004 to 2007 the group was owned 100% by property of the Iribecampos / Uribarren family.

Today, Grupo Condesa is made up of 12 manufacturing companies (in Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Morocco), 4 general service companies (in Spain), 20 sales offices (in Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Netherlands and United Kingdom), 3 sales agents (Gran Canaria, Ireland and Switzerland).

In total, Grupo Condesa has 2200 workers.

The Group has 2,628,171 m2 of production plants, of which 719,262 m2 are buildings.

The Group produces 1.6 million tonnes / year.

It has a 20% share of the European market.

Its market share in Spain stands at 37%.

Its current turnover is 1000 million euros/year.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 3 februari 2016 17:14

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Kobe Steel forecasts net loss on Chinese slowdown

Nikkei reported that Kobe Steel is likely to bleed red ink of JPY 20 billion (USD 166 million) on a net basis in the current year through March 31 as the decelerating Chinese economy deals a blow to steel and construction machinery operations.

The Japanese steelmaker on Tuesday made the downward revision to its fiscal 2015 earnings projection. Back in October, it had forecast a net profit of JPY 20 billion. This will mark the first net loss in three years and a comedown from fiscal 2014 net profit of JPY 86.5 billion. Sales are expected to drop 2% to JPY 1.84 trillion yen.

Steel material prices have fallen due to the sluggish Chinese economy, eating into profitability. And with infrastructure development in China and Indonesia having lost momentum, Kobe Steel is likely to suffer a sales decline in construction machinery.

The construction machinery operations are seen suffering a 16 billion yen net loss -- the first in 16 years and a stark contrast to fiscal 2014's 21 billion yen profit. The segment will book an extraordinary loss of 15 billion yen as a loss provision in case it cannot collect accounts receivable from dealerships in China and elsewhere.

"With Chinese demand for construction machinery unlikely to pick up in 2016 or 2017, we will reduce factory staff," Executive Vice President Naoto Umehara told a news conference.

Kobe Steel on Tuesday reported a net loss of 13.8 billion yen for the April-December period and said sales fell 1% to 1.35 trillion yen. The company also said it won't pay a year-end dividend, leaving its annual dividend for fiscal 2015 at 2 yen a share, or half the prior year's level.

Source : Nikkei

voda 3 februari 2016 17:19

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Indonesia exempts auto grade steel import from anti dumping duties

Indonesia Investments reported that the Indonesian government approved the request of Indonesia's automotive sector to be exempted from the anti dumping duties that have been imposed on imports of steel from specific countries. Through Finance Ministry Regulation No. 65/2013 on Anti-Import Duties, the government set import duties - ranging between 7 and 55.6 percent - for steel imports from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam in an effort to protect the domestic steel manufacturing industry amid a global steel oversupply particularly caused by a supply glut in China.

Over the weekend, the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) confirmed that the government will not impose anti-dumping duties on steel imported for the manufacturing of vehicles.

Currently, Indonesia's automotive industry requires about one million tons of steel plates, 500,000 tons of hot rolled-steel, and another 500,000 tons of cool-rolled steel each year. The majority of these items are imported from countries that have been affected by the recently-introduced anti-dumping duties on steel imports. However, Gaikindo said these products are not yet available on the domestic market. As such, the anti-dumping duties have limited effect; after all, the automotive industry would need to import these steel products anyway in order to manufacture cars.

Anti-Dumping Duties on Imports of Steel Products

Country of Origin Tariff Range %

China 13.6 - 43.5

Japan 18.6 - 55.6

South Korea 10.6 - 11.0

Taiwan 7.0 - 20.6

Vietnam 12.3 - 27.8

Source: Finance Ministry Regulation No. 65/2013 on Anti-Import Duties

Warih Andang Tjahjono, Vice President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia, said the government should be more careful when making new policies and involve the academic as well as the business community to make effective and efficient policies. The aforementioned anti-dumping duties for steel imports was clearly a mistake in the case of the automotive sector. As a consequence of the regulation the vehicle production process at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia was affected as imports became expensive.

In order to supply the whole range of steel products that are needed by the automotive industry to produce cars, Indonesia's largest steel maker Krakatau Steel and Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation created a joint venture two years ago. Construction of the plant is in progress and should be completed by 2018.

Source : Indonesia Investments

voda 3 februari 2016 17:20

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Major strategic initiatives accelerate Vallourec’s transformation

Vallourec, world leader in premium tubular solutions, announced major strategic initiatives aiming at transforming its operational set-up, improving its competitiveness in the short and longer term and reinforcing its financial strength to secure long-term profitable growth and sustained shareholder value creation.

Downsizing European capacity by 50%, focusing on high value and specialized activities

Enhancing global competiveness through the creation of two world class highly competitive production hubs in Brazil and China thanks to the merger of Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil and Vallourec Tubos do Brasil and the acquisition of Tianda Oil Pipe

Targeting around EUR 750 million additional EBITDA contribution by 2020 thanks to these measures

Most measures implemented by end 2017

Reinforcing R&D and industrial cooperation with long-term partner NSSMC

Strengthening balance sheet through EUR 1.0 billion of new equity, supported by Bpifrance and NSSMC

Looking beyond the trough - 2020 targets
EBITDA of EUR 1.2-1.4 billion
Normalized Free Cash Flow of EUR 500-600 million
Net Debt/EBITDA<>
Investment Grade rating
ROCE above WACC

Mr Philippe Crouzet, Chairman of the Management Board, said “Since the beginning of the downturn, we have undertaken important measures to adapt both in the short term and structurally. Today, we announce a comprehensive set of major strategic initiatives, which reshape Vallourec for long term profitable growth. Our plan significantly adjusts our industrial footprint in Europe, to address overcapacity and focus on highly specialized activities in France and Germany. It rationalizes and optimizes our Brazilian operations. It gives us access to a second, highly competitive production hub in Tianda Oil Pipe. I am conscious of the impact of those measures on our employees. They are necessary if we want to position Vallourec as a strong and sustainable company, able to successfully compete over the years.”

He added “In this context, the commitment of Bpifrance and NSSMC as anchor investors is a key support to Vallourec’s strategy, while ensuring its independence, and I am convinced that our long term R&D cooperation with NSSMC will enhance the technical leadership of our VAM® connections. Through these decisive actions, we fully demonstrate our confidence in the long-term prospects of our business and our determination to maintain and develop Vallourec’s position as a leader in premium tubular solutions, for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders.”

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 3 februari 2016 17:21

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US steel imports in 2015 remain well below 2014 levels – AIIS

American Institute of International Steel announced that US steel imports closed out 2015 well below their 2014 levels, with the United States bringing in one-eighth less steel than it did the year before.

In December, imports fell 5.4 percent from November and were down 36.2 percent from December 2014 at 2.32 million net tons. Imports from Brazil fell by half from November to 193,000 net tons, which was 55.2 percent less than in the previous December, while imports from South Korea declined 25.5 percent from November and 44 percent from a year earlier to 235,000 net tons. Imports from Canada were largely unchanged from November at 434,000 net tons, though this was 10.8 percent less than in the last month of 2014. The European Union recorded the only significant increase, as that block of nations increased its sales of steel to the United States by 18.8 percent from November to 469,000 net tons. This, however, was nearly 32 percent less than in December 2014.
For all of 2015, steel imports fell 12.6 percent to 38.77 million net tons. The biggest decrease was in steel from Russia, which was down 54.8 percent at 2.12 million net tons. Imports from the European Union declined 15.2 percent to 6.06 million net tons, from Canada 4.2 percent to 5.8 million net tons, and from South Korea 11.4 percent to 4.85 million net tons. Imports from Brazil, however, increased 5.8 percent to 5.32 million net tons.

December’s semifinished imports were down 55 percent from December 2014 at 306,000 net tons. For the full year, semifinished imports declined 31.8 percent to 7.23 million net tons.

Steel imports may not be considered an official “leading economic indicator,” but they are still a pretty good sign of how things are going. As imports fell four out of the last five months of the year, sinking to levels far below a year earlier, the nation ended 2015 with fourth quarter growth of just 0.7 percent. That dismal showing for the holiday season now leads into what has recently been the worst quarter for the U.S. economy. Q1 growth has often been weak or even negative since the Great Recession, a phenomenon that is often attributed to harsh winter weather, and the recent East Coast snowstorm certainly slowed economic activity for a time. At the same time, other worrisome factors continue to weigh on the economy, notably the deepening slowdown in China, the world’s second largest economy, grim economic data in Canada, which recently sent the Canadian dollar to a 13-year low, and the oil price shock. The continued presence, depth, and duration of these and other factors lead us to expect that steel imports will likely continue to trend downward in early 2016, and perhaps beyond.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 3 februari 2016 17:25

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EU anti dumping measures on rebar like a drop in the Yellow Sea - EUROFER

The European Steel Association welcomed the European Commission’s imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on imports of Chinese High Fatigue Performance Rebar, but questioned their effectiveness in actually deterring wider Chinese dumping.

Mr Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER, said “The provisional measures – as low as 9% – cannot remedy the massive injury caused by Chinese HFP rebar import surges, which have captured 46% of the EU market from zero in less than two years.”

He said “The same HFP rebar anti-dumping investigation in the USA would, for example, have lead to the imposition of measures of up to 66%, reflecting the dumping levels without any downward adjustment.”

Mr Eggert continued, “The aim of the application of the Lesser-Duty rule – to limit duties to a level strictly necessary to address the injury suffered by the European industry from dumping – has clearly missed its objective. Duties as low as 9% are a drop in the Yellow Sea in terms of safeguarding EU industry from the flood of unfair imports from China.”

He also said “This plays into the wider narrative around the granting of Market Economy Status (MES) to China. Were MES to be granted to the country, it would be even harder for the EU to calculate deterrent anti-dumping tariffs on unfairly traded Chinese goods.”

He said “Were this legislative proposal to have been adopted and applied to the HFP rebar case, the full dumping margin up to 66% could have been imposed, as China restricts metallurgic raw material exports such as iron ore, scrap and alloys. However, this proposal has been blocked by a minority of Member States, including by the UK, which is the only market for this product in Europe.”

The Commission found that Chinese HFP rebar has been dumped on the European market by up to 66%. Yet, the duties imposed are only a fraction of the dumping margin. Unlike its major trade partners, the EU reduces the duties if the calculated level of the injury caused by the dumping is lower than the level of the dumping (known as the ‘Lesser-Duty rule’).

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 3 februari 2016 17:26

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Negative outlook for Asian steel industry reflects weak profitability amid oversupply – Moody’s

Moody's Investors Service says that its negative outlook for Asian steel companies reflects its expectation that profitability for the steelmakers will continue to decline, as oversupply and weakening demand in China (Aa3 stable) will further weaken prices.

Mr Jiming Zou, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst, said “Slow property investment, modest infrastructure spending and lackluster manufacturing will reduce Chinese steel demand by about 5% in 2016. At the same time, declining Chinese demand will lead to an increase in the Chinese steelmakers' exports, pressuring already low prices and thereby the profitability of the region's major steelmakers.”

Moody's further notes that the lower raw material prices will be unable to offset steel price declines.

Moody's outlook is driven by China -- the region's largest consumer and producer of steel, whose economic slowdown and reforms mute the industry's demand-growth prospects.

China's net exports surged to 12% of total domestic production in the first eight months of 2015 from 10% in 2014 and 6% in 2013, against the backdrop of declining domestic demand.

By region, Moody's expects Chinese steelmakers' EBITDA per tonne will continue to fall in 2016, after declining considerably in 2015, as declining demand outpaces capacity reductions.

The profitability of Japanese and Korean steelmakers will remain pressured by sluggish domestic demand and steel price declines in overseas market. However, for Japanese steelmakers, the weak yen supports producers' cost structure, partly mitigating the negative pressures. In the case of Korean steelmakers, a recovery in the domestic housing market will benefit long steel producers.

And although Indian steelmakers will also see their profitability fall in 2016, their profitability will remain higher than that of other Asian steelmakers, owing to the country's rising demand and captive iron ore mines.

Moody's further notes that the profitability for most of the steel companies it rates in Asia will exceed the regional average, because they are market leaders in their home countries, sell high-margin products, and benefit from business integration and diversification.

Moody's outlook could revert to stable if (1) it expects EBITDA per tonne for major Asian steelmakers to stabilize over the next 12 months; and (2) China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stays above 50, indicating manufacturing growth, in turn boosting demand for the region.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 4 februari 2016 16:26

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Prijsdalingen drukken Tata Steel in het rood

Gepubliceerd op 4 feb 2016 om 14:37 | Views: 1.475

MUMBAI (AFN) - De Indiase staalproducent Tata Steel heeft in de laatste maanden van 2015 flink te lijden gehad van scherp dalende prijzen. Het moederbedrijf van het voormalige Hoogovens in IJmuiden is daardoor diep in de rode cijfers gedoken, blijkt uit donderdag gepresenteerde kwartaalresultaten.

Met name staalbedrijven uit China, Rusland, Zuid-Korea en Japan kampen met een terugvallende vraag in eigen land. In plaats van hun overcapaciteit aan te pakken, dumpen zij hun producten tegen bodemprijzen op zowel de Indiase als de Europese markt.

,,Deze oneerlijk geprijsde producten verstoren de balans tussen vraag en aanbod in veel regio's, drukken de prijzen en ondermijnen de winstgevendheid van veel grote staalproducenten'', aldus Tata in zijn kwartaalbericht.

Nettoverlies

Het bedrijf boekte afgelopen kwartaal een nettoverlies van omgerekend 280 miljoen euro, tegen een winst van ruim 20 miljoen euro een jaar eerder. Ondanks een hogere productie is de omzet met een zesde ingezakt tot omgerekend 3,7 miljard euro.

Vooral de Britse fabrieken van Tata Steel hebben het erg moeilijk met de concurrentie uit opkomende markten. Zij kampen ook nog met de nadelige effecten van het dure Britse pond en relatief hoge energiekosten. Het bedrijf maakte onlangs bekend dat de komende tijd nog eens duizend Britse banen komen te vervallen, bovenop een nog grotere reorganisatie die vorig jaar als was aangekondigd.

Maatregelen

De Europese Unie nam vorige week maatregelen om de import van goedkoop staal uit China aan banden te leggen. Op de producten van veel Chinese staalbedrijven is sinds zaterdag een extra invoerheffing van kracht die kan oplopen tot 13 procent.

voda 4 februari 2016 16:30

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AHA!!!

Daling dollar helpt grondstoffensector

Gepubliceerd op 4 feb 2016 om 12:56 | Views: 2.668

LONDEN (AFN/BLOOMBERG) - De prijzen van grondstoffen en aandelen van grondstofgerelateerde bedrijven zaten donderdag in de lift, mede door de sterke daling van de dollar. Door de zwakkere dollar is het aantrekkelijker geworden voor investeerders met buitenlandse valuta's om in grondstoffen te beleggen, aangezien die zijn geprijsd in de Amerikaanse munteenheid.

De prijs van Amerikaanse olie ging 0,7 procent omhoog tot 32,50 dollar, terwijl ook grondstoffen als ijzererts, aluminium, lood en goud in trek waren. Dit trok de aandelen van olieconcerns, staalbedrijven en mijnbouwers omhoog. Zo steeg Shell, dat ook met cijfers kwam, in Amsterdam 5,4 procent, terwijl staalproducent ArcelorMittal 6,1 procent won. In de MidKap noteerde roestvrijstaalbedrijf Aperam 5,4 procent in de plus.

In Londen ging oliebedrijf BP 3,6 procent omhoog en de mijnbouwers BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto en Anglo American stegen 7 tot 12 procent in waarde.

voda 4 februari 2016 16:49

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Mr Scaroni voices interest in ILVA revamp

ANSA reported that former fuels giant ENI CEO Mr Paolo Scaroni on Tuesday voiced interest in possibly heading up a revamped ILVA steel group but ruled himself out as new president of insurer Generali.

Mr Scaroni said "If there were an Italian consortium for ILVA and they wanted someone who knew something about the steel industry, I'd think about it.”

As for Generali, whose CEO Mario Greco stepped down recently, Mr Scaroni said "No one has proposed the presidency to me and even if they did I wouldn't accept".

The ILVA group is going through a major restructuring including the environmental clean-up and revamp of its massive plant at Taranto in Puglia.

Source : ANSA

Bijlage:

voda 4 februari 2016 16:49

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SMS Group and Houghton Intl form strategic partnership in US

Germany-based SMS group, a supplier of equipment for the manufacture of steel, aluminum, and nonferrous metal products, and Houghton Intl Inc, a Norristown, Pa.-based supplier of fluids and chemicals for metal processing, have formed a partnership to develop and market oil-based cooling lubricants and emulsions for cold rolling mills.

Under this partnership, the companies will pool their R&D resources to offer cooling lubricants to steel makers.

Source : The Fabricator

voda 4 februari 2016 16:51

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Moody's downgrades JSW Steel to Ba3 with negative outlook

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded JSW Steel Limited's corporate family rating (CFR) and senior unsecured notes ratings to Ba3 from Ba1. The outlook on all ratings remains negative.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 4 februari 2016 16:52

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EUROFER update on Tubes segment in EU

EU steel tube production fell by 10.6% y-o-y in the third quarter of 2015, a much sharper drop than expected. Tube output fell in almost all EU countries, with Germany, France, the UK and Sweden reporting a double- digit reduction in activity. The strongest reduction in output was recorded in France, as several negative structural and cyclical factors influencing demand and supply coincided in Q3.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

voda 4 februari 2016 16:53

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Indian steel industry awaits investment growth push in Budget 2016 – Mr Sushim Banerjee

Mr Sushim Banerjee DG of INSDAG in his personal capacity wrote in Financial Express that the year 2015 may be specially remembered as a year of slowdown for the global economy, which grew by only 3.1% according to the latest IMF estimates. We have also witnessed a steep decline in prices of oil, metals and other commodities including foodgrains and services. Hardly any sector could cash in on the declining prices of raw materials, as inventories of finished products went up due to a fall in demand. Surplus capacities put an additional downward pressure on market prices. The only silver lining in such a depressing scenario, dubbed by a few as gradually approaching stagflation, was the growth projections in some of the emerging economies led by India. FY16 may clock a GDP growth of 7.3% or more for the country , now that growth in the previous year (FY15) has been revised downwards.

The Chinese economy that almost singlehandedly contributed to global growth in the past three years has started slowing down due to subdued domestic demand, as a fallout of a deliberate shift to consumption, away from investment. The thrust on light engineering, value-added metal, high-tech industries and IT-based service sectors and moving away from heavy engineering and gigantic structures are diminishing Chinese demand for most of the raw materials and creating stiff competition for many finished commodities, as exports from China at most competitive prices would seem to be the viable outlet for surplus capacities in these items.

It is interesting to see how the Chinese steel industry is planning to cope with the crisis of poor demand, massive surplus capacity, declining prices and negative profitability.

This is important, as Chinese strategy would have a huge impact on the global steel industry, the raw material scenario and trade. From the reports of Posco Research Institute and World Steel Association, it is seen that China has already eliminated more than 90-MT capacity in steel in 2010-14 and is planning to cut down an additional 100-150-MT capacities in the next five-seven years. The axe would mostly be on small and medium enterprises, thriving on credits from provincial banks and other units violating pollution norms. The surplus employees would be redeployed in other emerging sectors with requisite skill-based training. The mergers and acquisitions process in the steel industry would be strengthened. China ended last year with 110 MT of exports and the maximum thrust on exports would continue for the next two-three years. The abolition of export rebate on boron-coated steel has been strategically combated by having export rebates on chromium-added steel. As China is seized with a spate of anti dumping and countervailing duty impositions from the US, Mexico, Canada, the EU, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries, it is likely to focus on export destinations in South Africa, West Asia, South America and the ASEAN markets. The predominance of the BF-BOF process in steel making over the last few decades would lead to high domestic availability of obsolete steel scrap, and with the cutting down of production, the same would result in expanding the EAF route for catering to special steel and value-added steel demand. The prices of iron ore and coking coal are projected to hover below $50/t for China and around $80/t for Australia, respectively. The startling fact is that GDP elasticity of steel in China has progressively come down from 3.57 in 2000 to 0.35 in 2014, and with the diminishing share of FAI in GDP, the elasticity is likely to go down further.

Crude steel production in China has been projected by POSCO to drop from 803 MT in 2015 to 780 MT by 2020 and 750 MT by 2025. The estimates by WSD has put it at 775 MT in 2016 and 735 MT by 2020. The finished steel consumption in China at 675 MT in 2015 is slated to come down to 643 MT in 2020 and to 624 MT in 2025. For India, finished steel consumption which has been estimated at 81 MT in 2015 is envisaged to grow to 114 MT in 2020 and to 155 MT in 2025, at an average compound growth of 6.7% during the period, which is the highest among major steel-producing countries.

The projected consumption would ride the growth in the construction sector at an average rate of 7.6% and automobile at 7.5%. The future of Indian steel is therefore crucially dependent on investment in infrastructure building and in manufacturing sector. The budgetary announcements by February-end are eagerly awaited to facilitate such an enabling environment.

Source : Financial Express

voda 4 februari 2016 16:55

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Japanese steel exports in 2015 at 40 million tonnes level for 6 years in row

The Ministry of Finance Japan released on 25th Japan's preliminary imports and exports of steel products in the calendar year of 2015. According to it, its export quantity of steel products in 2015 was 41,272 thousand tonnes (abbreviated as t/t), down 1.0% from the previous year. That decreased for 2 years in a row but maintained the level of 40 million tons for 6 years in a row. Its export amount in the yen was 3 trillion 668.3 billion, down 7.3% ditto. While, its import quantity of steel products in 2015 was 7,682 t/t, largely down 13.8% ditto. That had exceeded the level of 7 million tons for the first time since 2012 (7,796 t/t).

By destination in 2015, its exports to Asia were 31,445 t/t, down 2.7% ditto. Of these, those to China were 5,285 t/t, down 9.2% ditto, those to the ASEAN NIEs were 10,257 t/t, down 9.8% ditto, and those to the ASEAN were 12,406 t/t, down 2.6% ditto.

For the remote regions/countries, those to the Middle East were 1,866 t/t, up 1.1% ditto, those to Russia were 60 t/t, down 51.9% ditto, those to the USA were 1,355 t/t, down 4.9% ditto, and those to the EU were 307 t/t, up 5.6% ditto.

While, by supplied country of imports in 2015, its imports from Asia were 6,466 t/t, down 13.5% being a double-digit decrease ditto. Of these, those from China were 1,605 t/t, down 16.4% ditto, those from the ASEAN NIEs were 4,509 t/t, down 11.7% ditto, and those from ASEAN were 139 t/t, down 31.2% ditto. Those from the Middle East were 8 t/t, up 82.9% ditto while those from the USA and EU were 11 t/t, down 4.5% ditto and 118 t/t, down 6.5% ditto respectively.

Source : The TEX Report Ltd

voda 4 februari 2016 16:56

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Steel Warehouse Cisa to start processing plant in Brazil in March

BNAmericas reported that Steel Warehouse Cisa, a 50:50 JV between Brazil's largest private trading company Cisa Trading and US based steel service center Steel Warehouse, is reportedly about to complete the infrastructure works at its headquarters in São Paulo state's Paulínia.

The new plant will be served by the 'Temper Pass Cut to Length' line, a steel processing solution aimed at the provision of plates with the best tolerances and flatness and free of residual stress, local press reported.

Company's managing director Mr David Sánchez was quoted as saying that “Worldwide there are about 20 of those machines in operation and this will be the first installed in Brazil. It is heavyweight equipment which needs substantial structure and foundations to operate at 100%.”

The company is working on expansion plans as only 50% of the built space is being used.

Steel Warehouse Cisa is expected to kick off operations in the second half of March, the report said.

Source : BNAmericas

voda 4 februari 2016 16:57

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US Steel Kosice back to normal 5 working days

The largest private employer in eastern Slovakia, the steelworks U.S Steel Košice has cancelled the three day weekend and restored the five day working week for its employees. ?ubomíra Šoltésová, company public relations manager, said “The management of US Steel Košice decided that as of February we will not continue with a shortened working week.”

US Steel Košice had shortened the work week as of the beginning of 2016 in response to the difficult situation on the steel market. The reason was a dramatic drop in orders and poor situation on the steel market in Europe due to extreme volumes of products with dumping prices imported to Europe over the past few months.

USSK, which employs more than 12,000 internal as well as external workers, agreed on the shortened week with local trade unions.

Source : Sme.sk

Bijlage:

voda 4 februari 2016 16:58

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Sales expert Mr Hwang Eun-yeon promoted as POSCO president

Korea Times recently reported that a sales and marketing expert, who began his career at POSCO 30 years ago, has become what all salary workers dream of. Korea's largest steelmaker on Monday promoted Mr Hwang Eun-yeon, born in 1958, to company president to supervise its human resources management, public relations, labor and other administrative affairs.

In 1987, Mr Hwang started his career at POSCO's main plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, as a member of the sales team. Eleven years later, he became the team leader and was appointed to chief sales representative at POSCO China in 2004.

When Mr Hwang was promoted to an executive position in 2008, he headed the steelmaker's strategic marketing division. In 2013, Hwang became an executive vice president in charge of POSCO's corporate relations with the media and other entities.

He then moved to manage POSCO Energy, the steelmaker's power generation unit, in 2014. The executive vice president then returned to POSCO a year later and has since been supervising the company's administrative affairs.

In contrast to Hwang's rise, many other POSCO executives were forced to quit in the latest personnel reshuffle. The steelmaker slashed the number of executives to 259 from 359. It also downsized its organizational structure by integrating divisions to save money.

Source : Korea Times

Bijlage:

voda 4 februari 2016 16:59

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Metinvest Ilyich expands range of galvanized steel according to European standards

PJSC Mariupol Ilyich Iron & Steel Works has launched the production of galvanized rolled coils according to European norm EN 10346. The product will be used for construction applications to manufacture lightweight thin-walled structures and load-bearing profiled flooring.

An alloying system, casting, hot and cold rolling procedures, as well as coil hot-dip galvanizing conditions were developed to produce S250GD galvanized rolled products.

The resulting mechanical properties are fully in line with the requirements of European standards. Galvanized rolled products of S250GD steel have the guaranteed level of strength specifications, making it possible to use them in the manufacture of formed sections for lightweight thin-walled structures and load-bearing structures.

Rolled products of S250GD steel are available as coils with a thickness of 0.5-1.6 mm and a width of 1,000-1,250 mm. The first 1,300 tons of the new product have been already shipped to customers in Poland.

Galvanized coils produced according to EN 10346 enjoy steady demand in Ukraine and the CIS as well as in export destination markets. Earlier, Mariupol Ilyich Steel streamlined the mass production of galvanized coils of S320GD and S350GD steel grades (used in the manufacture of lightweight thin-walled structures) and rolled products of DX51D steel (used in the manufacture of roofs, ventilation and guttering, window profiles and other). Metinvest has shipped about 88 thousand tons of rolled products made of these steel grades, including 3 thousand tons to South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East in 2015.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

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