Day: 25 July 2022

18.07.2022 von Hubert Hunscheidt

Zentrales Vorhaben ist die Dekarbonisierung des Unternehmens: Die produktionsbedingten CO2-Emissionen (Scope 1 und 2) sollen bis 2030 halbiert werden. Die Scope 3-Emissionen bei eingekauften Waren und Dienstleistungen sowie brennstoff- und energiebezogenen Emissionen sollen im ersten Schritt um 30 % reduziert werden (Basisjahr 2019). Bis 2050 will BENTELER Netto-Null-Emissionen für Scope 1, 2 und 3 (vorgelagert) erreichen. Die Division BENTELER Steel/Tube strebt das Ziel CO2-Neutralität bis 2045 an. Dafür liegt der Fokus auf gesteigerter Energieeffizienz sowie dem Einsatz von Grünstrom und klimaneutralem Vormaterial.

Weitere Maßnahmen betreffen unter anderem die Bereiche saubere Energie, Kreislaufwirtschaft und Wasser. So wird BENTELER seine Produktionswerke kontinuierlich auf grünen Strom umstellen und seinen globalen Energieverbrauch jährlich um zwei Prozent senken. Die Schonung von Ressourcen bekommt einen noch höheren Stellenwert in der Fertigung: Abfälle sollen bis 2025 um sechs Prozent reduziert werden. Parallel soll der Recyclinganteil – derzeit bei rund 80 Prozent in der Division Automotive – weiter steigen. Speziell an Standorten mit hohem Wasserstress wird die Wasserentnahme bis 2030 um zehn Prozent reduziert (Basisjahr 2019). Basis der gesamten Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie von BENTELER sind dabei die „Sustainable Development Goals“ (SDGs) der Vereinten Nationen.

Ralf Göttel, CEO der BENTELER Gruppe: „BENTELER ist ein energieintensives Unternehmen. Umso mehr sind wir uns unserer gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung bewusst. Bei unseren Nachhaltigkeitsaktivitäten verfolgen wir einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz: Wir setzen uns selbst konkrete, messbare Ziele, die wir als Team gemeinsam erreichen – und gern auch übererfüllen – werden. Darüber hinaus tragen wir auch mit unseren Produkten dazu bei, die Mobilität von morgen noch nachhaltiger zu machen.“

Grundlegend überarbeiteter Nachhaltigkeitsbericht veröffentlicht

Welche Fortschritte BENTELER im vergangenen Jahr bereits gelungen sind, verdeutlicht der umfangreiche Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2021, den das Unternehmen heute veröffentlichte. Die Publikation zeigt Innovationen im Bereich der Produktnachhaltigkeit sowie diverse Maßnahmen aus den Bereichen Lieferkette, Produktion und Umwelt. So wurden beispielsweise die spanischen Automobilwerke des Konzerns bereits vergangenes Jahr auf grünen Strom umgestellt. Die Division Steel/Tube wurde kürzlich von EcoVadis, einem der weltweit größten Anbieter von Nachhaltigkeitsratings, mit der Silbermedaille ausgezeichnet und gehört damit nun zu den besten 25% der Unternehmen in der Branchenkategorie „Herstellung von Roheisen und Stahl“.

Ein Highlight im Bereich Produktion ist die „Grüne Rohre“-Strategie der Division Steel/Tube. Auch im Produktportfolio setzt die Division Steel/Tube auf nachhaltige Lösungen: Mit HYRESIST – nahtlosen, warmgewalzten Leitungsrohren – ermöglicht BENTELER die sichere Verteilung von Wasserstoff. Darüber hinaus bietet BENTELER mit seinem Hochdruck-Wärmetauscher eine innovative Lösung für E-Fahrzeuge. Das Produkt trägt zur besonders effektiven Kühlung der Batterie bei – und verkürzt damit ihre Ladezeit. In Partnerschaft mit Maruyasu Industries bündelt das Unternehmen seine Kompetenzen bei Abgasrückführungs-Kühlern. Damit sorgt BENTELER nicht nur für eine nachhaltigere Mobilität, sondern unterstützt seine Kunden konkret bei der Erfüllung geplanter Verordnungen wie der EU-7-Norm.

Quelle und Foto: BENTELER International Aktiengesellschaft

The Ministry of Commerce of China has announced that it will continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of grain-oriented electrical steel originating in Japan, South Korea and the European Union for five years since 23 July 2022, Kallanish notes.

The products involved are under HS codes 7225.11.00 and 7226.11.00. According to the official document, these products specifically refer to grain-oriented electrical steel containing at least 0.6% silicon by weight, not more than 0.08% carbon, and may contain not more than 1% aluminum. Its thickness should not exceed 0.56mm, and width should be at least 10 times the thickness.

China has imported 110,449 tonnes of these products in 2021, including 11% from South Korea and 1% from Japan. In the first half of 2022, imports of grain-oriented electrical steel declined by 29% on-year to 45,355t, including 7% and 1% contribued by South Korea and Japan. EU countries shipped almost none of these products to China in the reporting period.

China’s AD duties on grain-oriented electrical steel-July 2022

Country Company Duty
Japan JFE Steel Corporation 39%
Nippon Steel Corporation 45.7%
All Others 45.7%
South Korea Posco(with price promise) 0%
All others 37.3%
EU All 46.3%
Source: China Trade Remedies Information website

Kallanish Asia

Some demand is finally returning to the Italian coil derivatives market, particularly for sheet and welded tube, Kallanish is told by service centres, distribution sources and re-rollers.

After a long period of slow sales, end-users are beginning to restock. They are buying domestic sheet from local service centres, but also cheaper imported material, particularly from China and other Asian countries.

With possible increases in tube prices, demand is also resuming. Re-rollers are now reducing output while prices seem to have reached rock bottom. Tube discounts are now stable on 30 points on average and should start falling in contracts this week, sources say. Uncertainty and fear continue to blight buyers, although end-users are said to have orders.

Meanwhile, Italian hot rolled coil producers are also seeking increases, driven by high production costs (see separate article). Some are indicating HRC values at €800/tonne ($812) base ex-works, reflecting a €50/t increase on contracts the prior week. Italian scrap is also increasing and going back to levels of €360-380/t delivered for the expensive grades such as new arisings.

Natalia Capra France

Scrap prices in Spain remained stable last week. Only new arisings grade E8 material moved up, but just slightly. Sources suggest the upward E8 trend should continue towards the end of July, without being clear about the extent of the growth. Meanwhile, rebar prices remain unchanged ahead of the summer construction sector break.

E8 scrap prices in Spain started rising last Monday, although a correction in the international market has pushed European levels down, a source notes. “This could be explained mainly by a slower acceptance of the global price in the domestic market, which may not have much influence on short-term contracts due to seasonality in Spain,” a market participant tells Kallanish. Lower scrap grades, meanwhile, remain stable, although an insignificant rise is anticipated in the next few days, he adds.

Another source forecasts for August: “Although there will be small ups and downs, prices should continue to be relatively stable, reflecting the summer period of lower steelmaking activity. Demand for rebar will simultaneously remain weak.”

“Stockists’ rebar inventory levels are back to normal, although the resumption of construction activity has not happened as was expected in July,” a Spanish warehouse owner comments. “The situation is becoming worrying and September should be a turning point for the industry. The steel sector will be pushed to adjust its production levels after returning from maintenance shutdowns due to higher electricity costs amid an inflationary environment resulting from the war in Ukraine.”

According to sources, new arisings grade E8 scrap is now offered in Spain at €390-400/tonne ($396.21-406.48/t) delivered, €30/t more on-week. Demolition quality grade E3 stands at €330/t, while E40 is priced at €340/t, both delivered. E1 quality is at €300-305/t on the same basis.

On the other hand, Spanish buyers are purchasing rebar at €520-525/t base ex-works. Including €262/t size extras, transaction values are at €782-787/t ex-works. Some offers have also been heard at €792/t delivered for 16mm rebar.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria

Some Italian coil producers are seeking increases, pushing up quotes by €40-50/tonne ($40.6-50.7), mainly because of higher production costs.

The price of energy is anticipated to surge in September, with Italian and German steelmakers, particularly, bracing for gas price-related headwinds in the last quarter.

Hot rolled coil demand remains stagnant not only in Italy but also in other European countries, with order intake consistently subdued and for low tonnages, market participants tell Kallanish.

Senior market sources confirm that, in the Italian market, ArcelorMittal is trying to raise offers by €40/t, with similar moves expected in Spain. Other steelmakers are now asking for €800/t base ex-works for new orders and preparing to idle their mills to reduce the substantial overcapacity.

Acciaierie d’Italia, the joint venture between ArcelorMittal and state-owned Invitalia, has shut down blast furnace no.2 and plans to restart it at the end of August. Arvedi will also idle production from the week ending 29 July, sources observe, although the company has refused to comment.

Italian HRC contracts are increasing slightly compared to last week and hovering at €770-780/t base ex-works, sources suggest.

Sales of sheet and tube seem to have resumed downstream, with end-users restocking before the August closures (see separate article).

Emanuele Norsa Italy , Natalia Capra France

Many observers of the European coil market north of the Alps suspect that steel mills are keeping output lower than they would in a typical summer without the current numerous factors of uncertainty.

“Weakened demand for steel combined with the reservation of buyers, low import prices and a sharp rise in energy costs have made many steel producers decide to limit production capacities,” a Benelux manager believes. “Some do not speak of production cuts, but seem to have introduced them anyway.” This assessment gets the backing of other observers.

Inquiries from Kallanish to mills did not receive any replies beyond statements of outages previously announced, for example due to repair.

According to the Benelux manager, one German company is reported to be taking some of its galvanising lines out of production for some time. This would explain the relative strength of galv prices in comparison to cold rolled coil. He sees the price for hot-dip galvanized coil starting at €1,000/tonne ($1,025) ex-works and stretching to €1,050.

Interestingly, a mill source gives a more modest value of €980. This, however, is still much more than the conventional €100/t above hot rolled coil prices, which are now at €800 in Austria and €850 in northern Germany and the Benelux.

CRC has been lagging behind, with a low at around €900/t or less, but is seen re-widening the gulf to HRC now on recovering demand from carmakers. The mill source notes that the galvanizing process consumes substantial natural gas that is now becoming scarce, which puts the brakes on output.

A manager at an Austrian service centre remains critical about the prevailing hope for rebounding prices. “My belly feeling does not see them pick up notably in July or August – unless there is bad news on the gas supply front. If that’s the case, we will have bigger problems altogether.”

Christian Koehl Germany

Polish steel rebar producers have raised their offer prices sharply because of high costs and solid order books, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 22. In the week to July 22, Polish producers set their rebar offers at 4,000 zloty ($856) per tonne cpt, equivalent to about 3,950-3,980 zloty per tonne exw. This was sharply up from official offers of 3,850 zloty per tonne reported earlier in July.

The new offers, however, have not been accepted in bookings yet. Sources pointed out that, earlier in July, large tonnages of rebar were sold in the domestic market at lower prices, so buyers were not willing to accept higher offers.

Despite resistance among buyers, mills intended to maintain their offers at current levels, citing the high costs of energy and healthy order books.

Several sources told Fastmarkets that Polish mills were largely sold out for August-rolling rebar, and had managed to sell large portions of their production in foreign markets such as Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“There is quite a big difference between Polish and German rebar prices, so buyers in Germany are interested in Polish rebar bookings,” a source in Poland told Fastmarkets.

Other sources suggested that Polish producers will extend their summer maintenance periods this year in order to “limit supply and keep the rebar price steady,” Fastmarkets heard.

Polish buyers estimated the achievable price for domestic rebar at 3,800-3,880 zloty per tonne delivered.

As a result, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 3,800-3,880 zloty per tonne on Friday, up by 80-200 zloty per tonne from 3,600-3,800 zloty per tonne a week earlier.

In the secondary market, stockholders were offering rebar at 4,100 zloty per tonne cpt earlier this week, but eventually lowered their offers to 4,030-4,050 zloty per tonne cpt by Friday due to a lack of trading activity. This was up from 3,900 zloty per tonne cpt last week.

Meanwhile, rebar offers from Italy to Poland were heard at €850-860 ($867-877) per tonne cpt.

Rebar from Hungary was offered to the nation at €850 per tonne cpt.

And some limited tonnages of Moldova-origin rebar were available to Polish buyers at €840 per tonne cpt.

Post-holiday prospects
In general, market sources agreed that Polish mills will have good opportunities to achieve higher prices in deals for September-rolling rebar.

Notably, market sources have reported recovering demand among end-users in the construction industry.

The performance of the construction industry, the major rebar consumer, was generally good in Poland except for the residential sub-sector, where the number of the new projects has been decreasing recently due to high interest rates, Fastmarkets heard.

“Construction companies want to secure rebar in their stocks to keep projects running. There is a lot of concern about energy supply and production sustainability in September-December due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

During peak hours, electricity prices in Poland were exceeding 1,000 zloty per MWh in July, market participants told Fastmarkets. This was up from 650-700 zloty per MWh in June, and sharply up from 378 zloty per MWh in July 2021.

And market participants told Fastmarkets that, in the fourth quarter of 2022, European manufacturers might be faced with gas quotas, with the steel industry in particular unlikely to receive a big allowance, so more production cuts were possible.

The European Commission is working on emergency gas rationing for EU countries, sources told Fastmarkets, in case Russia cuts off its supplies completely.

Published by: Julia Bolotova

Swedish steelmaker SSAB reported record results for all business segments in Q2, driven by a combination of high steel prices, good demand particularly for high-strength steel in most markets, and “solid internal performance,” despite lower production and shipments, it said in a July 22 statement.

However, it said the market outlook is now uncertain due to rising inflation, component shortages, bottlenecks in logistics chains and risk of disruptions relating to sanctions and fallout from the war in Ukraine, despite an overall increase in customer demand for fossil-free steel.

Q2 production and shipments both fell from a year earlier due to lower slab inventories and a prolonged start-up phase following an unplanned outage of one of the blast furnaces in Raahe.

Crude steel output was 1.98 million mt, down from 2.17 million mt in Q2 2021. Rolled steel production was 1.84 million mt (2.05 million mt) and steel shipments were 1.71 million mt (1.86 million mt), it said. Both production and shipments showed a recovery from levels in Q1 2022, when the blast furnace outage occurred, it said.

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, SSAB stopped sales to Russia and Belarus and discontinued new purchases of ore and coal from Russia. Ruukki Construction has minor operations in Ukraine which were due for a partial restart during Q2.

High market prices pushed up SSAB Special Steels’ Q2 operating margin to 26.6% (20.1%). High-strength steel is SSAB’s primary area of growth. SSAB Europe’s operating margin rose to 28.3% (14.8%) while SSAB Americas’ operating margin rose to 39.7% (22.5%).

European market prices for steel rose sharply during the first quarter following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but dropped back during Q2, primarily in strip prices, which had slumped to pre-invasion levels at the end of Q2, as demand weakened and the market was characterized by caution, SSAB said.

Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe at Eur860/mt ex-works Ruhr July 21, up by Eur5/mt day on day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data, marking a slight uptick as more buyers were reported to have returned to the market after two months’ low activity. This was still 6.72% lower than the Eur922/mt of the start of the year.

The price of heavy plate in North America decreased somewhat but continued to be at a high level during the second quarter, on good demand in most customer segments, and low inventories at North American distributors, SSAB said. In China, market prices for strip and heavy plate fell during Q2.

Fossil-free steel demand growing

SSAB’s transformation to fossil-free steel production is on plan, as customer demand for fossil-free steel continues to increase, said the company, which continues to deliver pilot volumes for a number of selected partnership projects.

In Q2, Volvo Construction Equipment delivered the world’s first construction machine built of SSAB fossil-free steel and in Q3 Volvo Trucks will start small-scale introduction of fossil-free steel in heavy-duty electric trucks, SSAB said. The steelmaker also began collaboration with Alfa Laval on the world’s first heat exchanger to be made using fossil-free steel, with the first unit planned for 2023.

Q2 also saw the inauguration of HYBRIT’s pilot facility for hydrogen gas storage in Svartöberget, Luleå. Work on the feasibility studies for SSAB’s planned mini-mills in Luleå and Raahe is proceeding towards the goal of fossil-free production at around 2030: however, the transition requires sufficient availability of fossil-free electricity in the right place at the right time, the steelmaker said.

SSAB’s overall Q2 revenue was SEK 35.516 billion (compared to SEK2.673 billion in Q2 2021), it said.

Operating profit, excluding items affecting comparability, was SEK 10.395 billion (SEK4.083 billion). This was the first time that SSAB’s operating profit exceeded SEK 10 billion for a single quarter, it said.

Planned outages

SSAB Americas has brought forward the annual planned maintenance outage from October to September. SSAB Europe has postponed some of the maintenance to the fourth quarter.

Mixed Q3 outlook

The market in Europe is expected to see a seasonal slowdown in Q3, while the heavy plate market in North America should be relatively stable, SSAB said. SSAB Special Steels’ shipments should be somewhat lower than in Q2, but on stable realized prices.

SSAB Europe is expected to have lower shipments due to the seasonality and planned maintenance outage. Realized prices are expected to be significantly lower during Q3, compared to the high level seen in Q2.

SSAB Americas’ shipments are expected to be significantly lower as a result of the planned maintenance outage. Prices are also expected to be lower.

Raw material costs will rise for SSAB Special Steels and SSAB Europe during Q3, compared to Q2, largely because of coal purchases (primarily PCI coal) at exceptionally high prices at the end of Q1, it said.

“Out of the three main operating divisions (Europe, Americas and Special Steels) the largest contraction is expected to be Europe, whereas plate prices remain very robust benefiting Americas,” said Jefferies International analyst Alan Spence in a July 22 note. “Special Steels’ price movement is historically less volatile in both up and downcycles.”

— Diana Kinch

Domestic hot-rolled coil in Europe was unchanged July 22, supported by distributors’ increased restocking activity.

Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe at Eur860/mt ex-works Ruhr July 22, stable day on day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

Deals have been heard at Eur860-870/mt ex-works Ruhr, with the majority of transactions made at the lower end of the range. Market sources estimated tradable value at Eur850-860/mt ex-works Ruhr. And one steelmaker has been offering HRC at Eur900/mt ex-works Northern Europe.

HRC in South Europe was assessed at Eur785/mt ex-works Italy July 22, unchanged day on day, according to S&P Global data.

Both transactions and achievable prices have been reported at Eur780-800/mt ex-works Italy. Official offers from Italian mills have been heard at Eur800-820/mt ex-works.

In the second half of July, trading activity has started to recover across Europe as buyers resumed purchases to restock after about three months of low activity and declining prices. In addition, the automotive segment has seen higher demand for steel, although consumption rates remained below normal because of continuing issues with components shortages, sources said.

Longer August maintenances and some steelmaking equipment stoppages also helped to balance supply and demand, and as a result, left the market mood to more positive.

Buyers, however, have been cautious with purchases as they remained uncertain about the price trend for autumn, some market participants said.

“The market outlook is foggy, the price recovery has just started, but maintenances and traditionally slow August is about to start,” an Italian source said. “And buyers are cautious with their purchases planning. There is indeed higher demand, but it is still below normal. Prices for finished goods, downstream, pipes, also limit the HRC price rise.”

Prices for imported HRC from Asia have moved down as suppliers looked for orders. European buyers, however, have been showing limited interest in overseas coil due to long lead times.

In Northern Europe, offers of HRC from Taiwan have been reported at Eur720-730/mt CFR Antwerp and from Japan at Eur760-770/mt CFR Antwerp, compared with previous offers reported at Eur770-780/mt CFR.

A Turkish steelmaker has been offering HRC in Italy at Eur720-730/mt CFR, including anti-dumping duties. And offers from Japan have been reported at Eur680/mt CFR Italy.

— Maria Tanatar, Benjamin Steven

Southern European buyers have been giving lower bids for heavy steel plate in the week to July 22, citing competitive import offers.

Platts assessed plate in Southern Europe at Eur1,000/mt ex-works Italy July 22, down Eur50/mt week on week, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

A buyer reported transactions at Eur1,000-1,020/mt ex-works Italy. An Italian producer said that majority of the deals have been settled at around Eur1,000/mt ex-works. With some customers transactions also have been made at Eur950/mt ex-works and at Eur1,150/mt ex-works.

Offers have been reported at Eur1,000-1,020/mt ex-works and market sources estimated achievable prices at Eur1,000-1,050/mt ex-works.

Italian stockholders have been bidding at Eur900-950/mt ex-works.

Buyers have been citing lower import prices for the material from South Korea as a reason behind the bearish approach.

“There are offers at Eur900-950/mt CFR Italy from South Korea,” an Italian re-roller said. “Stockists use these offers as a reason to ask for lower prices from Italian mills. But I do not think any of the import material was booked, as lead times are long.”

Plate producers in Germany and Northern Europe, in the meantime, have been holding back from sales in the spot market. They continue to enjoy solid order books because of long-term contracts with projects.

In Northern Europe, Platts assessed plate up by Eur25/mt week on week at Eur1,375/mt ex-works Ruhr July 22.

Offers from the region’s mills have been reported at Eur1,400-1,450/mt ex-works Ruhr, one source said that transactions have been settled within the same range. Tradable value has been reported at Eur1,350-1,600/mt ex-works Ruhr. And distributors have been offering the material at Eur1,250-1,500/mt ex-stock.

“Demand and consumption are relatively stable, end-users buy regularly, stockholders reluctant and waiting for lower prices, still making good business, prices between Eur1,300-1,500/mt ex-stock from stockholders,” a German trader said. “Stockholders would like to sell more but combination of high profit and smaller quantities makes them happy – stockholders always complaining.”

— Maria Tanatar, Benjamin Steven