Day: 18 June 2021

European car registrations rose year on year in May, for the third month in row, as sales recover from the low level registered in 2020 due to coronavirus lockdowns, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on June 17.

Total EU, EFTA and UK sales were up 74% to 1.1 million new cars in May and 31% higher at 5.2 million over January-May.

Within that, EU new registrations in May were up 53% year on year to 892,000 units, which was below the May 2019 figure of 1.2 million new cars. The Spanish car market saw the biggest rise, of 178%, with France up 46.4%, Italy up 43.0% and Germany up 37.2%.

That meant January-May registrations rose 29.5% to reach 4.3 million units.

Year-on-year rises in March, April and May came after sharp falls in January and February, with the four major markets of Italy (62.8%), France (50.1%), Spain (40.0%) and Germany (12.8%) all recording double-digit gains in the first five months of 2021.

Automotive is a key industry for steel producers, with a turnover that represents over 8% of EU GDP and that generates a trade surplus of Eur74 billion ($90 billion) for the EU. On average, 900 kg of steel is used per vehicle.

According to ACEA data, automobile manufacturers source almost all their steel (over 90%) in the EU. The association recently underlined the difficulties finding raw materials, mainly coils as “since manufacturing restarted in summer 2020 there has been a serious shortage of steel in the European market”.

Market safeguards

ACEA, as others, associations of large steel buyers were vocally against of the European Commission proposal to the WTO regarding a possible three-year extension of market safeguards against imports. Buyers are concerned not only that prices will continue to increase but that raw material market will tightening even more.

On June 11 the EC notified the WTO about a proposal to extend the EU Safeguard Measures on Steel Imports, which is set to expire on June 30, reducing to 3% the annual liberalization of quota levels compared to 5% previously.

The current safeguards were put in place in response to the US Section 232 tariffs in July 2018 — using import data from 2015-2017 — to prevent economic damage to European steel producers, while analyzing the statistical data reported in the text of the European Commission proposal to the WTO it emerges that the period examined is now 2018-2020.

Because demand for products made with a large percent of steel is keep rising as marked also by ACEA last data on car registrations buyers said that the evaluation for new safeguards should consider also in somehow forecasts relating steel demand for the years 2021 and 2022.

According to S&P Global Platts data, European hot-rolled prices are at their higher historical level, after having been plateauing in the last few days, coils prices have registered further gains, with market sentiment that is now bullish, industry sources said.

North European HRC prices, Platts benchmark, increased Eur10.50/mt to Eur1,148/mt ex-works Ruhr on June 16. Since the end of last year prices have gone up by Eur483/mt.

— Annalisa Villa

The Port of Liverpool is undergoing a congestion of shipping containers, with ships suffering delays arriving and exiting the port due to understaffing, an IT outage and high density of stock, sources told S&P Global Platts June 17.

Containers have been delayed for several hours, with a lack of stevedores on site to aid in discharge of goods and hauliers struggling to book entry into the port amid lags in cargo flow.

“It is shockingly bad, they don’t have enough manpower at the port,” a European coils trader complained. “Painful delays, these containers need to be cleared within seven days and it’s getting expensive. The lack of haulage and drivers is a separate thing, but even if you have a lorry, you’re waiting hours.”

Haulier jobs normally lasting a few hours were now taking up a better part of the day, sources said, with the availability of slots limited and labor costs increasing due to waiting times.

“They’re taking ages to unload – they have taken on too many vessels,” the same trader said. “You must collect your container from the dock, unload and return within the agreed period of time. If you don’t give it back to them in this one-week period, it’s a penal cost.”

The delays were not segregated to flat steel, with difficulties in sourcing containers also a problem for some scrap yards.

“I’ve heard Liverpool is a nightmare, especially for hauliers – it’s not so much an issue for scrap traders as we tend to get an all-in freight rate,” a UK scrap trader said. “But I’ve heard that for some scrap yards, it’s difficult to source containers due to the backlog in Liverpool.”

The Port of Liverpool saw increasing stocks among carriers amid the decline of the Felixstowe Port in Suffolk, UK, last year.

In November, the Felixstowe port — UK’s busiest container port — came under extreme pressure in the lead-up to Christmas, with the Brexit decision looming. Significant backlogs caused by a container shortage due to surging Asian demand resulted in the reallocation of some ships to Rotterdam.

The owner, Hutchison Ports, blamed pre-Brexit stockpiling and the coronavirus pandemic for the backlogs, with delays expected to continue into 2021.

“Peel Ports [Liverpool port operator] tried hard to make Liverpool a solid destination after Felixstowe collapsed last year. So many more ships calling,” a UK-based container source said.

“Due to longer wait times onshore for hauliers, they are refusing to go, causing further pile-ups. Costs are increasing for detention charges,” the same source said.

In a company statement, Peel Ports said the delays were a result of several factors impacting the Terminal 1 turnaround times, including an IT outage and high stock density.

A Peel Ports spokesperson confirmed delays of up to 2.5 hours, with normal discharge turnaround times usually between 1-2 hours.

“We understand that any issues with the smooth running of the port are frustrating for customers and we recognise an efficient haulier interchange is critical to the port’s and haulier’s offer,” David Huck, the Managing Director of Group Ports said.

“We have spent much of this week working through the backlog caused by last week’s delays and whilst some issues may remain into next week, we hope that service levels will return to the high standards usually offered by the Port of Liverpool.”

According to the statement, the Group had employed 150 people by the end of 2020, with extended weekend opening hours already implemented.

— Amanda Flint, George Griffiths, Viral Shah

US service centre chain Olympic Steel has increased funding and extended the maturity of its existing credit facility, Kalllanish understands.

According to an announcement by Olympic Steel, the company has amended its existing $475 million, five-year asset-based revolving credit facility by increasing available funding by up to $200m. Along with this increased funding, the company extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility by five more years through 16 June, 2026.

“The amendment and five-year extension of our revolving credit facility provides us with an excellent source of low-cost capital to sustain our ongoing operations, as well as additional capital to fund acquisitions and our organic growth,” explains Olympic Steel cfo Richard Manson.

Upon implementation of the amendment and extension, Olympic Steel had approximately $190m in available funds under the credit facility. The company intends to use the additional funding for capital needs, acquisitions, and future growth initiatives.

“Our continued focus on working capital management and operating expense efficiency has afforded us a great deal of liquidity and flexibility under the revolving credit facility. We appreciate the ongoing support of the syndicate of banks involved in the credit facility,” Manson adds.

Zach Johnson USA