Day: 7 January 2022

Zwei Milliarden Euro Zusatzkosten könnten auf stahl- und metallverarbeitende Zulieferer zukommen – als Folge des von der EU-Kommission vorgeschlagenen europäischen CO2-Grenzausgleichsmechanismus. Das ist das alarmierende Ergebnis einer Studie des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) in Köln zu den Auswirkungen des Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – kurz CBAM. Er würde die Stahlhütten vor ausländischer Konkurrenz mit größeren CO2-Belastungen bei geringerem CO2-Preis schützen, die Stahlverarbeiter aufgrund steigender Vormaterialkosten aber in den Ruin treiben. Und das Abwanderungsrisiko stark erhöhen. Auftraggeber der Untersuchung ist der Wirtschaftsverband Stahl- und Metallverarbeitung (WSM). Er fordert von der EU-Kommission dringend Nachbesserung und die Einbeziehung der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette.

EU-Vorschlag greift zu kurz

„Der EU-Vorschlag vom 14. Juli 2021 greift zu kurz“, kritisiert WSM-Hauptgeschäftsführer Christian Vietmeyer. „Nur mit ganzheitlichem Blick auf alle Akteure der Lieferkette lässt sich ein Carbon-Leakage verhindern.“ Das IW Köln rechnet vor, dass sich die Kosten der Stahlverarbeiter in Deutschland um zwei Milliarden Euro und etwa 3,5 Prozent der Wertschöpfung der Branche erhöhen würden, „wenn der CO2-Preis auf Stahl dank Grenzausgleich und damit verbundenem Wegfall der kostenfreien Zuteilung von Emissionszertifikaten voll durchschlägt.“ Diese fatale Entwicklung würde die komplette, rund zweiprozentige Umsatzrendite der Stahlverarbeiter schlucken, zumal die meist mittelständischen Betriebe die Kosten nicht weitergeben können. Sie wären nicht mehr wettbewerbsfähig.

Verteuerung könnte unzählige Arbeitsplätze kosten

Unzählige Jobs wären damit in Gefahr – die zehn am stärksten von hohen Stahlpreisen betroffenen Branchen stellen ein Sechstel der deutschen Arbeitsplätze. Einen ähnlichen Negativeffekt hatten vor ein paar Jahren die Stahlzölle in den USA: Sie sicherten laut Schätzungen rund 1.000 Jobs in der Stahlproduktion, vernichteten aber 75.000 in nachgelagerten Branchen.

CBAM: Im Prinzip gut, aber einseitig

Der Verband bezweifelt nicht die Notwendigkeit des Grenzausgleichs. Vietmeyer: „Der Ansatz ist im Prinzip gut. Klimaschutz ist für die europäische Industrie teuer – sie verringert ihre CO2-Emissionen durch Investitionen und bezahlt einen steigenden CO2-Preis. Wenn sie am Standort weiter produzieren soll, braucht sie international vergleichbare Wettbewerbsbedingungen und den Schutz vor günstiger hergestellten Importprodukten.“ Gefährlich ist die einseitige Begrenzung des Ausgleichs auf die pure Erzeugung von Zement, Aluminium und Stahl.

Exportnachteile ausgleichen – Stahl- und Metallverarbeiter führen 25 Prozent aus

Stahl- und Metallverarbeiter wären auch auf internationalen Märkten benachteiligt, da der Grenzausgleich nur für Importe vorgesehen ist. Die stahlverarbeitende Industrie exportiert aber ein Viertel ihrer Produktion in Staaten außerhalb der EU, weitere 25 Prozent entfallen auf Produkte, die wiederum ausgeführt werden. „Sie ist auf den Export angewiesen – ohne Rabattierung der Kosten kann sie auf den Weltmärkten aber nicht mehr konkurrieren“, unterstreicht Christian Vietmeyer.

Der WSM vertritt stahl- und metallverarbeitende Branchen mit rund 5.000 Unternehmen und circa 400.000 Mitarbeitern. Hier seine Forderungen auf einen Blick:

• Folgen für die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette einschätzen: Die EU-Kommission muss die Auswirkung des CO2-Grenzausgleichsmechanismus auf allen Stufen eingehend prüfen. Ziel ist die Sicherung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit nachgelagerter Industrien.
• Carbon-Leakage verhindern: Nur die ganzheitliche Einbeziehung der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette kann die Abwanderung bei nachgelagerten Verarbeitungsstufen vermeiden. Und so die Arbeitsplätze in der Stahl- und Metallverarbeitung sichern.
• Exportkosten rabattieren: Diese Maßnahme erhält die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit stahlverarbeitender Industrien auf den Weltmärkten.

Quelle: Wirtschaftsverband Stahl- und Metallverarbeitung e.V. 

05.01.2022 von Hubert Hunscheidt

The global semiconductor shortage is expected to last for several years beyond 2022 for the automotive industry and many other sectors, says German consultancy group Roland Berger.

The biggest shortages are seen in older generation chips, the legacy semiconductors on which the automotive industry is reliant, Kallanish notes. Additional manufacturing capacities are mainly being built up for newer generations, meaning that these investments will offer little relief, the organisation observes.

“The gap between semiconductor supply and demand is getting bigger and bigger,” says Falk Meissner, partner at Roland Berger. “There is no improvement in prospects anytime soon, because the reasons for the supply crunch are structural and related to the way supply chains are currently set up. The shortage of chips will persist into 2023 and probably beyond.”

The capacity expansions that have been announced are not enough to meet demand, he adds.

Roland Berger analysis indicates chip demand will increase by 17% on-year from 2020 to 2022. Yet production capacity will rise by only 6% on-year in the same period.

With semiconductor factories already running at 97% capacity on average, a rapid expansion of production is not realistically possible, the analysts conclude. “Some car manufacturers are already switching from a just-in-time to a just-in-case approach and thus overstocking semiconductors. In the short term, this aggravates the supply shortage even more,” Roland Berger says.

The automotive industry is already in the process of transitioning to new electronic vehicle production. Technology and automotive company experts interviewed for the study believe it will take traditional car manufacturers more than five years to complete the transition.

“Companies from the automotive industry and other sectors that rely on semiconductors need to actively address the crisis,” says Meissner. “Long-term direct supply contracts with semiconductor companies that include reciprocal capacity commitments and purchase obligations over several years are an important lever.”

The global automotive sector has rebounded strongly since the initial Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 but supply chain disruption is constraining further growth. Global semiconductor shortages are seen costing the worldwide automotive industry around $210 billion in lost revenue last year, with almost 8 million units of output seen lost in 2021.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria

Autoliv, a leading maker of automotive safety systems, and SSAB have initiated a collaboration to research and develop fossil-free steel components for products such as airbags and seatbelts.

Autoliv claims it is the first automotive safety supplier committed to becoming carbon neutral in its own operations by 2030, and furthermore aims for net-zero emissions across its supply chain by 2040. According to SSAB chief executive Martin Lindqvist, the steelmaker will be initiating a number of pilot projects together with Autoliv with the aim to reduce climate impact.

SSAB previously announced another collaboration on fossil-free steel with domestic air conditioning systems maker Lindab, a long-standing partner of SSAB. Starting 2026, it will deliver fossil-free steel to Lindab, for use in ventilation and building systems (see Kallanish passim).

Meanwhile, SSAB has started producing steel powder at its plant in Oxelösund. This is a major step on the journey to become a player in the rapidly growing market for additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, the company states.

Its objective is to launch new steel powder products on the market this year. Further development of the new facility will include implementing additional equipment such as a 3D printer for steel powder, as well as a screening and packaging machine.

Christian Koehl Germany

Ferroso, an online portal for steel buyers and sellers founded in summer 2020, and initially operating with a selected limited numbers of participants, has now opened up for the entire market.

The founders of the Essen-based company describe Ferroso as a matching tool, rather than an online market place that requires distributors and consumers to study long lists. Instead, buyers enter the products they need in a search function and receive matching offers with prices, delivery conditions and contact details of the seller. On the other side, sellers receive only inquiries that fit their portfolio, Kallanish understands.

“On the steel market, people do not all speak the same language. Product terms may vary, and distributors differ in their ranges of products, shapes and measures,” chief executive Joanna Funck says of Ferroso’s approach.

Its data bank so far counts more than 250 distributors and several hundred inquiries, but the actual matching service has been limited to the selected participants. Now that it has been opened to the public, “the more companies that participate, the better the service works,” Funck says. The company had half a dozen employees in December and plans to double the number in 2022.

Christian Koehl Germany

Heine + Beisswenger, a German steel distribution group selling and processing special bar quality steel (SBQ), has assumed full ownership of Heine + Bleck in Hermsdorf, Thuringia, as of 1 January.

The eastern German house until last year was partly held by Andernach + Bleck, a bright bar producer based in Hagen, North Rhine Westphalia. Also as of 1 January, Andernach + Bleck sold its stake in a house in Bremen, Roland Stahl, to Alois Schmitt GmbH. Andernach + Bleck, which in Italy owns Metalli Trafilati, says it will keep focusing on its bright bar production, and keep supplying the houses in Bremen and Thuringia.

Separately, Heine + Beisswenger in December announced that it has forged a partnership with mill group Georgsmarienhütte Holding (GMH) and tool maker Sandvik Coromant for the promotion of carbon-free steel. So far, the partners within their alliance pursue separate activities, Kallanish understands. Georgsmarienhütte earlier announced that it will make CO2-neutral bars in its EAF by means of green electricity. Machining specialist Sandvik Coromant’s low-emission ambitions focus on one of its products for the aviation and automotive industry.

Heine + Beisswenger will be banking on renewables for its logistics, storage and processing services. The group is headquartered in Fellbach in southern Germany. It operates 12 sites and per year and processes some 250,000 tonnes of bar steels.

Christian Koehl Germany

Metinvest will focus in the next few years on known and proven technologies for the reduction of the carbon footprint of its Ukrainian assets, the company’s general director Yuri Ryzhenkov says in an interview published on its website.

This includes direct reduced iron (DRI) in combination with electric arc furnaces (EAF). This step-by-step approach to delivering on its objectives will help the company reduce CO2 emissions by more than 90% by 2050 and completely abolish the sinter-making process, he adds.

Metinvest Group intends to invest $1.3-1.5 billion annually over the next 3-4 years, Kallanish notes.

“The final stages of the strategy are expected to include the use of hydrogen, but today there is still no way to produce cheap hydrogen either in the country or anywhere else in the world,” Ryzhenkov notes. “That is why we have set this time frame in the hope that a method for producing cost-effective hydrogen will be found.”

In the short term, Metinvest intends to invest $1 billion in organising the production of high-quality raw materials at Severny GOK, which can be used in green steel production.

“The construction of a plant with a capacity of 4-4.5 million tonnes/year of electrical steel will require at least €2 billion ($2.2 billion),” Ryzhenkov says. “In order to change the technology completely, the estimated costs will be about $15-20 billion over the next decade and here we need government support.”

However, today there are no decarbonisation programmes in Ukraine, or even any progress on developing them, so we aim to encourage the government to move in this direction, he adds.

Metinvest also intends to increase the efficiency of current processes at one of the factories in Zaporozhye or Mariupol. To this end, the group is exploring the option of launching a new natural gas facility to reduce carbon emissions.

At the moment, the location of the complex is being discussed and completion of the feasibility study is expected in the first half of 2022.

Metinvest is currently discussing a target capacity of 4-4.5m t/y of steel in Zaporizhia and would like to keep volumes of about 9m t/y of finished products in Mariupol.

“If Zaporizhstal becomes a mill that only makes pig iron, then we have the opportunity to develop both the Mariupol site and the site in Kamianske, thus compensating for the retiring steelmaking facilities,” the head of the plant says.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria

Spain’s Gestamp has received accreditation for its products from the national standards association Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (Aenor), the major supplier of components to the global automotive sector tells Kallanish.

Gestmap thus becomes the first company in the automotive sector to receive the Zero Waste certification, which recognises its circular economy model, capable of reusing the waste it generates in production processes.

“Aenor verified that 63% of the group’s plants systems meet the requirements of complete traceability waste, from its generation to its delivery, and is in line with all legal requirements associated with this process,” Gestamp explains. From all verified plants, 15% have obtained the Zero Waste certification, while the remaining 48% meet the requirements.

The company applies environmental criteria in all stages of its production, from the selection of suppliers and optimisation of raw materials and natural resources to the management of consumption of energy and water resources necessary for the manufacture of components, waste management and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the product use phase.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria

New car registrations in the UK were steady year on year in 2021 at 1.65 million units, according to data released Jan. 6 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The annual volume was 28% below 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, due to a number of challenges, including the ongoing semiconductor shortage.

SMMT CEO Makes Hawes said it had been “another desperately disappointing year” for the industry as the pandemic continued to hinder recovery and manufacturers battled with tougher trading arrangements, accelerating technology shifts and the global semiconductor shortage, which was “decimating supply.”

“Despite the challenges, the undeniable bright spot is the growth in electric car uptake… The models are there, with two of every five new car models now able to be plugged in, drivers have the widest choice ever and industry is working hard to overcome COVID-related supply constraints,” Hawes said.

Plug-in vehicles reached a record high in 2021, accounting for more than one in six registrations, according to the SMMT, while pure battery electric vehicle sales rose to one in nine registrations, which was more than the combined volume registered over the 2016-2020 period.

The UK was the third-largest European market for new car registrations in 2021, the second-largest by volume for plug-in vehicles and the second-largest for BEVs, it said.

“It is only in ninth position overall, however, in Europe for BEVs by market share, underlining the progress still to be made, despite the UK having among the most ambitious targets of all major markets with the end of sale of new petrol and diesel cars scheduled for 2030,” SMMT said.

According to the data, BEV sales in 2021 totaled 190,727 units, up 76% year on year to take a 11.6% overall market share, which was up from 6.6% in 2020.

Plug-in hybrid vehicle sales also rose 71% on the year in 2021 to 114,554 units, with the market share at 7%, up from the previous 4.1%.

Sales of hybrid EV for the year also climbed 34% on the year to 147,246 units, a 8.9% share of total sales, up from 6.7% in 2020.

“Following billions of pounds of investment into new technology by manufacturers, more than 40% of models are now available as plug-ins,” SMMT said.

Meanwhile, gasoline cars continued to hold the largest market share at 46.3% or 762,103 units, although the share was down from 55.4% the previous year, while the volume also dropped 15.7% year on year, according to SMMT.

Diesel vehicles’ market share almost halved from 16% in 2020 to 8.2% in 2021, with 135,773 units sold in 2021, down 48% on the year, the data showed.

Risk to net zero ambitions

SMMT said that, while the UK government aimed to end all sales of internal combustion engine cars by 2030, this goal was also being hampered by cuts to purchase incentives and grants for home chargers, which was a risk to the motor industry’s and government’s net zero ambitions.

In March, the government updated its grant scheme for electric cars, vans and trucks, reducing grants for EVs priced under GBP35,000 from GBP3,000 ($4,060) to maximum GBP2,500.

It also removed grants for higher-priced vehicles, as these were “typically bought by drivers who can afford to switch without a subsidy from taxpayers.”

“Furthermore, the slow pace of growth in on-street public charging — where, on average, 16 cars potentially share one standard on-street charger — could put the brake on EV demand and undermine the UK’s attractiveness as a place to sell electric cars,” it said.

SMMT called for incentive extension and mandated charge point targets to accelerate consumer uptake and increase the industry’s competitiveness globally.

In November, the government did introduce new legislation to compel news homes and building, including supermarkets and workplaces, to install electric vehicle charge points from 2022, which would also apply to any building undergoing major renovations that will leave the site with over 10 parking spaces.

The new legislation is expected to result in up to 145,000 extra charge points being installed in England per year.

— Jacqueline Holman

European hot-rolled coil steel prices were stable Jan. 6 after the holiday period amid high energy and transport costs, causing great pricing uncertainty for Q1. Sentiment remained mixed about how quickly automotive demand will return, with some buyers still cautious about a price decrease in the face of cheaper import prices, sources told S&P Global Platts.

An HRC import offer price was heard before Christmas at Eur800/mt CIF Antwerp ex-Asia, now updated to HRC Eur750-780/mt CIF Antwerp ex-Korea. A cold-rolled coil import offer stood at Eur880-890/mt CIF Antwerp ex-Asia.

“Domestic players don’t have a choice but to react to cheap import prices,” a German trader said.

The source was still pessimistic about a potential price increase despite a surge in automotive demand, with some original equipment manufacturers now restarting after a production slump.

“Auto is definitely a bright spot, but I’m more pessimistic because prices are sliding down every week — drops are more than Eur20/mt,” the trader said regarding the import market.

On the mill side, a European producer was confident about an uptick in demand from the manufacturing industry, with the Benelux region struggling amid shortened workforces.

“It’s a sign that business is rolling — they’re actively seeking people,” the mill source said.

He added that European car dealerships had reported full order books and were simply waiting for more stock from factories.

“It’s a sign that as long as automotive has cars to deliver, they will sell,” the mill source said.

The EU Commission’s revision of the import safeguards system Jan. 10 could spell further trouble for European players, with the same trading source expecting protectionism to tighten.

Mills looking to export sufficient steel quantities could also face a shortage of available ships, the source warned.

— Amanda Flint