Category: Latest Updates

Sales at Germany’s stockholding steel distributors in 2019 totalled 10.7 million tonnes, a dip by -4.3% on-year, following a couple of years of increase, Kallanish learns from their federation, BDS.

The main customer group was construction, which accounted for 21% of sales, a remarkable leap of four percentage points on-year. The leading customer sector of preceding years, automotive, lost slightly and in 2019 took 20% of sales.

This marks a shift in the balance between construction and automotive. Looking back, BDS notes that until 2003 construction usually took between 20% and 30% of sales, and that automotive gradually gained since then. The share of other sectors changed little in 2019, except for the group of miscellaneous sheet and metals working companies, which lost five percentage points to 11%.

Over the course of the year, July stood out with nearly 1mt sold that month. The inventory backlog at the beginning of the year stood at 2.22mt, and by 31 December had gone down by -8.8% to 2.03mt. Notably, that low level led to strong restocking activity in February/March this year.

Belgium-headquartered steel wire specialist Bekaert is projecting a gradual recovery in tire markets in the remainder of the year. However, demand in other markets is more difficult to project in the current economic environment, the company says in its first-half earnings report seen by Kallanish.

The risk of a potential second wave of Covid-19 continues to create a high level of uncertainty, limiting the company’s ability to forecast the full-year impact.

H1 demand from tire and automotive markets was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Global tire demand on average reduced by -40% in the second quarter but showed some signs of recovery at the end of the period. Construction activity was constrained in most parts of the world by the Q2 lockdowns, except in China, where stimulus programmes started to boost infrastructure investment.

Demand from agriculture, utility, and mining markets remained solid across H1 as these sectors, generally considered as essential industries, appeared to be less affected by the pandemic.

The Steel Wire Solutions and Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group business units accelerated the implementation of profit restoration measures and succeeded in substantially improving business-mix. This drove a solid turnaround in profitability and cash generation. The Specialty Businesses unit further enhanced its margin level through cost control and an improved product mix, while Rubber Reinforcement implemented extensive measures to partially mitigate the inevitable margin impact from a -43% sales collapse in Q2.

At present, all Bekaert’s production plants globally are operational, either fully or partially. H1 sales stood at €1,770 million ($2,077m), down -20% compared to H1 2019. Ebitda was €194m ($228m), Bekaert reveals.

Seaborne iron ore prices surged on Monday. Strong expectations for China’s steel demand in the coming months, and an expected slowdown in deliveries to ports, were fuelling speculative trading.

The Kallanish KORE 62% Fe index jumped $5.91/t to $115.35/dry metric tonne cfr Qingdao, the highest since 1 August 2019. The Kallanish KORE 65% Fe index gained $4.94/t to $125.90/dmt cfr, and the KORE 58% Fe index surged $4.38/t to $103.88/dmt cfr. 110,000 tonnes of Newman Fines sold at $116.3/t with a laycan in 21-30 August.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange September iron ore settled up CNY 24/t at CNY 861.5/t. On the Singapore Exchange September 62% Fe futures settled up $4.52/t at $110.46/t. The same contract for 65% Fe and 58% Fe futures settled up $4.32/t at $122.43/t, and up $3/t at $102.67/t respectively.

Confidence in Chinese steel markets remains strong and that has meant mills are keen to top up their stocks from ports. Seaborne deliveries to ports, meanwhile, are expected to pull back slightly from the levels of recent weeks due to a slowdown in shipments from Australia and Brazil in July. 

China is also seeing the late arrival of its typhoon season. After unusually seeing no typhoons on its shore in July, over the weekend it issued a blue alert for Typhoon Hagupit. The typhoon made landfall on Monday night but is not expected to cause significant disruption to ports.

US raw steel capability utilization continued to increase last week, rising to 59.3% from 58.9% the previous week, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute on August 3.

Production increased by 0.6% to 1.328 million st during the week ending August 1, up from 1.320 million st the previous week, according to the data.

Last week’s production was down 28.1% compared with the same week a year earlier, when capability utilization was at 79.3% and production totaled 1.846 million st.

The AISI calculated adjusted year-to-date production at 46.1 million st, with a capacity utilization rate of 66.2%. The total is 19.9% lower than that of the same period last year, when the utilization rate was 80.9% for 57.6 million st of output.

While the Great Lakes region saw a 1.9% decrease in production and the Southern district saw a 1.7% decrease compared to the previous week, the remaining regions saw week-on-week increases for the week ended August 1.

Last week’s production totaled 134,000 st in the Northeast; 462,000 st in the Great Lakes region; 145,000 st in the Midwest; 515,000 st in the Southern district and 72,000 st in the Western region, according to the data.

The weekly raw steel production volume AISI provides is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production data provided by 50% of domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder.

— Grace Parker

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp completed the sale of its Elevator unit July 31, paving the way for a reshape of its struggling steel unit.

Sources expect an announcement soon on future plans for steel, but some said the company’s Marine Systems unit will need to be consolidated first.

Thyssenkrupp CEO Martina Merz said in the July 31 announcement on the Elevator unit sale that it would use “the proceeds in the billions” to “transform” the rest of the company. The sale of Elevator to a financial consortium comprising Advent, Cinven and RAG Foundation is worth Eur17.2 billion.

Thyssenkrupp’s major shareholder Cevian endorsed Swedish steelmaker SSAB for a takeover or partnership with Thyssenkrupp earlier in July, saying the company would be “best suited” for the steel unit. Market chatter and media reports have been mounting ever since with sources saying that SSAB would be a likely – but not necessarily popular – candidate for a possible tie-up.

Thyssenkrupp keeps ‘options open’

A Thyssenkrupp spokesperson told S&P Global Platts that it continues to keep its options open. The company announced a revival of a possible merger in May without disclosing who the potential partners were. Merger talks between Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel collapsed in 2019 and were seen as unlikely to be restarting as long as it remains uncertain what will happen to Tata’s Port Talbot mill.

SSAB did not respond to Platts’ request for comment. The Swedish company said however in an analyst call earlier in July it would look at mergers and acquisitions, but rather in the small- to mid-sized range. Despite this, SSAB remains a candidate in the view of market sources.

“SSAB would be tackling overcapacities first at Thyssenkrupp sites that are not running well,” said a mill source, expecting a drastic “cutback” at the sites likely to infuriate unions.

Sources said that SSAB is likely to be withdrawing Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit from the joint ownership of semis producer Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann, currently jointly owned by Thyssenkrupp, Salzgitter-Mannesmann and Vallourec.

While employees and unions would prefer a solution with Salzgitter, the second biggest German steelmaker, this potential contender is thought unlikely to be able to take on the much-needed restructuring of Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit.

“I would prefer a solution with Salzgitter, but the company is too small,” a source close to Thyssenkrupp said.

Thyssenkrupp has been heavily affected by the demand slump during the height of the pandemic along with peers such as Salzgitter, Voestalpine and ArcelorMittal.

‘Stahl AG’ deemed unlikely

Marc Gabriel, analyst at Bankhaus Lampe, said that a potential arrangement between the two German steel companies – dubbed “Stahl AG” – would depend on how the pandemic will further unfold as a worsening economic situation could lead to the government increasing its protection of German companies.

“I don’t see the ‘German solution’ coming. Only in the case if the COVID-19 crisis will be worsening because then the German government will be pushing the idea of a ‘Stahl-AG’,” Gabriel said, adding that Salzgitter could be taking over Thyssenkrupp’s share of HKM.

Salzgitter has repeatedly stressed the need for consolidation in the European steel market due to excess capacity while steel demand was stagnant, but has not confirmed any merger talks.

— Laura Varriale

Spain’s Gestamp saw revenue fall year-on-year in the second quarter and first half of 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the company says in its quarterly report monitored by Kallanish. Gestamp is a major supplier of components to the global automotive sector.

“The company has experienced two challenging months during Q2, April and May, due to the shock in production in most of the continents due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Gestamp says. “Activity levels plummeted during the period at practically all our plants.”

According to market analysts, Q2 was the toughest period experienced by the automotive sector and the global economy in the last 75 years, with global light vehicles production plummeting -45% on-year. The automotive industry is not seen recovering 2019 production levels until 2024, although activity is expected to improve in H2.

As a result of the current market situation, Gestamp has implemented a transformation plan. “We reacted to the decline in revenue in the current scenario and adapted our cost structure and consolidated our operations after a high investment and growth period,” says Gestamp chief executive officer Francisco Riberas. “Gestamp’s strategic relationship with customers will remain intact and the company will keep focusing to offer solutions for the growing electric vehicle market.”

The group’s plan includes a workforce adjustment in Western Europe and America to adapt to lower production volumes. It also plans a “…rationalisation” and “…consolidation” of its UK footprint, as well as plant closure and labour expenses reduction in Germany.

Gestamp’s total net revenue amounted to €1.03 billion ($1.23 billion) in Q2, -55.9% lower on-year. Body-in-white and chassis revenue accounted for €797.5 million. Q2 operating loss was €233m versus €134.9m profit a year earlier.

H1 sales fell -32.5% over January-June 2019 to €4.51 billion, as Gestamp saw reduced performance in all regions and markets.

European carmakers association Acea says motor vehicle production losses in mainland Europe and the UK on account of the Covid-19 pandemic amounted to some 2.4 million units in March-May. This represents 13% of total 2019 output.

The biggest loss in terms of units was registered in Germany, with over 600,000 vehicles not produced in March-May. The longest stoppages were seen in Spain, Italy and the UK, where plants stopped production for an average of 41 days during the March-May lockdown period.

Sweden, on the other hand, saw production stopped for only 15 days during the same period, Kallanish notes.

“Although the exact ramifications of Covid-19 for full-year 2020 results are still unknown, these figures show the impact of the coronavirus on auto production and employment at the peak of the crisis,” the association notes.

“We are unfortunately now facing very strong headwinds in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, which has hit our sector with an unprecedented force,” says Acea director general Eric-Mark Huitema. “Unless EU policymakers and national governments urgently step up their political and economic support, for instance with green fleet renewal schemes, last year’s car sales total (15.3 million) will be slashed by around 25% in 2020, putting jobs, production and future investments under serious threat.”

Das Handlungskonzept Stahl fordert die Stahlbranche auf, bis 2050 klimaneutral zu arbeiten. Als ein strategischer Partner unterstützt die KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH die Unternehmen der Stahldistribution umfassend im Performance Management – auch bei der Umsetzung der grünen Ziele. Gemeinsam können sie die neuen Herausforderungen im Bereich Lager/Logistik/Operations bewältigen und die Wettbewerbs- und Handlungsfähigkeit der Unternehmen stärken.

Das von Bundeswirtschaftsminister Peter Altmaier am 15. Juli vorgestellte Handlungskonzept Stahl entwirft die Vision einer starken, ökologischen und wettbewerbsfähigen Stahlindustrie in Deutschland und Europa. Als Schlüsselindustrie mit rund 86.000 Beschäftigen soll die Stahl-Branche Vorbild werden für einen Wandel in der deutschen Wirtschaft hin zu einer klimafreundlichen Industrie.

Stahl ist der unentbehrliche Rohstoff für unsere moderne Mobilität, für die digitale Kommunikation, die Urbanisierung und die Automatisierung. Bei der Herstellung und Verarbeitung entstehen bisher große Mengen an CO2; allein in Deutschland waren es 58,4 Mio. Tonnen im Jahr 2018. Seit Beginn der Pandemie ist die Abnahme von Stahl weltweit zurückgegangen und der Wettbewerb noch härter geworden. Einige Länder nehmen wenig Rücksicht auf die Umwelt und produzieren günstiger als Deutschland. Die Bundesregierung will grünen Stahl jetzt durch Forschung, Entwicklung und innovationsfreundliche Investitionsbedingungen fördern. Sie rechnet dafür mit Kosten von 30 Milliarden Euro bis zum Jahr 2050.

Die Stahlunternehmen selbst müssen den Wandel aktiv umsetzen. Dazu gehört eine klimafreundliche, ressourcenschonende und effiziente Stahldistribution. Gezieltes Performance Management im Bereich Lager/Logistik/Operations ist notwendig, um ungenutzte Potentiale zu heben und den Verbrauch an Ressourcen wie Energie, Maschinen, Transportkapazitäten und Flächen zu senken. Aus dem Maschinenbau kommend verknüpft die KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH viele Jahrzehnte Erfahrung in der Stahlbranche heute mit innovativen Software-Lösungen. Durch diese umfassende Expertise wird sie ein umsichtiger Begleiter für die Unternehmen der Stahldistribution auf dem Weg in eine grüne und erfolgreiche Zukunft

Über die KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH

Die KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH mit Büros in Düsseldorf und Freiburg ist ein strategischer Partner des Stahlhandels mit ausgewiesener Expertise. Sie entwickelt innovative webbasierte Branchenlösungen zur Performance-Steigerung im Bereich Lager/Logistik/Operations.

Als zuverlässiger Full-Service-Provider mit jahrzehntelanger Erfahrung in der Stahlbranche verbindet die KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH den Maschinenbau mit der digitalen Welt. Diese besondere Verknüpfung garantiert unseren Kunden ihren messbaren Erfolg und schafft nachhaltigen Mehrwert.

Quelle und Foto: KALTENBACH.SOLUTIONS GmbH

Autor: von Hubert Hunscheidt

27.07.2020

Die Europäische Union und Großbritannien haben jeweils Handlungsempfehlungen für die Zeit nach der Brexit-Übergangsphase veröffentlicht. Beide Seiten fordern die Wirtschaft dringend auf, sich auf tiefgreifende Änderungen einzustellen.

Ein halbes Jahr vor dem wirtschaftlichen Bruch nach dem Brexit haben Großbritannien und die EU Guidelines für die Zeit danach herausgegeben. Im Zuge dessen, wurde darauf verwiesen, dass Vieles unausweichlich sei, so etwa Zollformalitäten, selbst wenn noch ein Handelspakt gelänge.

Großbritannien hat die EU zwar bereits Ende Januar verlassen, ist aber noch bis Jahresende 2020 Mitglied des Binnenmarkts und der Zollunion. Auch mit einem etwaigen Handelsvertrag würden ab 1. Januar 2021 nach EU-Recht Zollerklärungen für alle Güter aus Großbritannien fällig, heißt es in dem 35 Seiten starken Papier, das von der EU-Kommission herausgegeben wurde.

Auch dürften britische Unternehmen ab dem kommenden Jahr keine Verkehrsdienstleistungen mehr in der EU anbieten, falls es nicht in einem Vertrag anders geregelt werde. Das Papier nennt Dutzende weitere Punkte mit wichtigen Änderungen.

Großbritannien mit 3-Stufen-Modell für Zoll

Großbritannien seinerseits hat darauf verwiesen, dass das Vereinigte Königreich als souveräne Nation eine vollständige Außengrenze betreiben werde. Dies bedeute, dass der gesamte Warenverkehr zwischen Großbritannien und der EU kontrolliert werde. Damit sich Unternehmen besser auf die neue Situation vorbereiten können, hat Großbritannien angekündigt, die neuen Grenzkontrollen in drei Stufen bis zum 1. Juli 2021 einzuführen.

Laut dem Papier müssen sich Unternehmen ab dem 1. Januar 2021 auf grundlegende Zollanforderungen vorbereiten, wie z.B. die Führung ausreichender Aufzeichnungen über die eingeführten Waren, wenn sie Standardwaren einführen, die alles von Kleidung bis hin zu Elektronik umfassen können. Sie werden zum Beispiel auch überlegen müssen, wie sie die Mehrwertsteuer auf importierte Waren abrechnen und bezahlen. Die Händler werden dann bis zu sechs Monate Zeit haben, um die Zollerklärungen auszufüllen.

Ab dem 1. April 2021 müssen dann alle Produkte tierischen Ursprungs (POAO) und alle regulierten Pflanzen und Pflanzenprodukte vorangemeldet werden und erfordern die entsprechenden Gesundheitsdokumente.

In der dritten Phase ab Juli 2021 müssen Unternehmen für ihre Waren am Einfuhrort vollständige Zollerklärungen abgeben und die entsprechenden Zölle zahlen. Für Waren, die gesundheitspolizeilichen und phytosanitären (SPS) Kontrollen unterliegen, müssen die entsprechenden Dokumente den Grenzkontrollstellen vorgelegt werden, und es wird eine Zunahme der physischen Kontrollen sowie der Entnahme von Proben geben. SPS-Kontrollen für Tiere, Pflanzen und ihre Produkte werden direkt an den Grenzkontrollstellen von Großbritannien und nicht am Bestimmungsort stattfinden.

Wir können an dieser Stelle nur einige ausgewählte Beispiele aus den von der Europäischen Union und Großbritannien herausgegebenen Guidelines anführen. Wenn Sie auf den Brexit bestens vorbreitet sein möchtet, kontaktieren Sie uns noch heute. Die Gerlach Zollspezialisten finden die richtigen Lösungen für Sie und Ihr Unternehmen.

Über Gerlach Customs

Gerlach ist der größte neutrale Anbieter von Zolldienstleistungen in Europa. Mit einem breiten Spektrum an Zolldienstleistungen kümmern wir uns weltweit um Ihre Zollangelegenheiten – damit Sie sich auf Ihr Kerngeschäft konzentrieren können.

Aktuell ist Gerlach in 12 europäischen Ländern an mehr als 70 Standorten vertreten. In weiteren europäischen Ländern kann Gerlach, als hundertprozentige Tochtergesellschaft von Deutsche Post DHL Group, von einem internationalen Partnernetzwerk profitieren. So stehen Ihnen in insgesamt 27 europäischen Ländern mehr als 750 Zollexperten und Berater für Ihre Zollangelegenheiten zur Seite. Darüber hinaus können Sie unser globales Partnernetzwerk nutzen – in über 200 Ländern.

Quelle: Gerlach Customs

Autor: von Hubert Hunscheidt

28.07.2020

ArcelorMittal posted a first-half operating loss of over $600 million, commenting that the period was “…one of the most difficult in the history of the company.”

The group saw the Covid-19 pandemic impacting all areas of its business, with steelmaking affected more than the mining unit.

H1 sales reached almost $26 billion, down by over -30% year-on-year. Crude steel production was down by over 12 million tonnes y-o-y to 35.5mt globally, while iron ore production was less impacted, moving down by less than 1mt to 27.9mt.

Looking forward, the company sees some signs of recovery across markets, but it remains cautious. “There are now signs of activity picking up, especially in regions where lockdowns have ended, but clearly it is prudent to remain cautious about the outlook,” chairman Lakshmi Mittal says in a report seen by Kallanish. “Against this context, we are examining what structural changes might be required to ensure the company is well configured to prosper in the coming years as demand recovers.”

In Europe, ArcelorMittal’s largest market, operating losses more than doubled y-o-y in H1, reaching $655m against a loss of $290m in H1 2019. The results were impacted by significantly lower shipments as well as lower average steel selling prices, which declined from $716/tonne in H1 2019 to $636/t in H1 2020.

ArcelorMittal is continuing to adapt production levels to market demand, but maintains the flexibility to quickly restart hot idled capacity on a regional basis as demand improves, it says.

Nevertheless, the company notes that “…the experience of the last 4-5 months has forced the business to operate differently. It has shown that it is possible to operate with a leaner cost structure.” The group thus wants to identify and develop its options for further structural cost improvements. This will “…position the fixed cost base for the post-Covid-19 operating environment,” it says. More details on the new strategy are expected next year.