Category: Latest Updates

British Steel has a new chief executive officer, the company says in a website announcement monitored by Kallanish.

The Scunthorpe-headquartered long products’ specialist has appointed its former chief financial officer and deputy ceo Gerald Reichmann to the position. He had replaced former deputy ceo Paul Martin in that position in 2018 after having been appointed cfo in late 2017.

“Gerald has played a leading role in the ongoing transformation of our business and his appointment will help us build a strong and sustainable future,” says British Steel chairman Roland Junck.

Junck had taken over the role of executive chairman following the departure of former ceo Peter Bernscher in December 2017.

“I’m delighted to have been appointed to this role and look forward to working with our employees, customers and suppliers to grow British Steel,” Reichmann adds.

Higher demand from the EU, particularly from Italy and Spain, continued to support Turkey’s coated coil export volumes in the second month of 2019. Turkish producers exported 150,000 mt of coated coils in February, more than double year on year, and higher than the 123,000 mt exported in the first month of the year.

Turkish coated coil producers shipped 1.33 million mt in 2018, 35% higher year on year, on notably higher south European demand, as Platts has reported.

According to the latest Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data sent to S&P Global Platts, Italy became Turkey’s main buyer in February, importing 40,000 mt of coated coils, while Turkey’s coated coil exports to Spain totaled 18,800 mt in that month.

Turkish mills shipped 14,500 mt of coated coil to Greece in February, while exports to Canada totaled 13,880 mt. Turkey’s other main coated coil buyers in February were: the UK (8,800 mt), Belgium (6,400 mt), Iraq (6,100 mt), Israel (5,000 mt) and Egypt (4,700 mt), the latest data showed.

Turkey’s shipments to the US — its main coated coil export destination in previous years — remained at zero again in February, due to the doubled US Section 232 tariffs against Turkish steel, made effective in mid-August 2018.

Turkish mills’ domestic and export coated coil pricing, meanwhile fell further this week, on low demand and stiff competition in the EU market (see other story).

— Cenk Can

Holland’s Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube  is continuing to invest to expand its presence in the international market after having posted strong 2018 results, Kallanish learns from the company. Van Leeuwen is an international trading company specialising in steel pipes and applications

Last year the group saw its turnover grow to €630 million ($708m), up by 3% y-o-y. Net profit was €9.7m, also up from €6.3m in 2017.

“In 2018, demand in both the European industry market and the worldwide energy market developed favourably. Van Leeuwen achieved better results in all industry market segments than in 2017. Developments in the energy market were also positive. There was significant recovery in key markets, such as Asia and North America, where Van Leeuwen achieved good results,” the company says.

Currently the group is investing to build a new 2000-square-metre warehouse in Sydney, Australia, and 4000m³ of additional space in Vyškov, Czech Republic. These new investments are part of the ongoing internationalisation of the company, it confirms.

In May last year Van Leeuwen acquired the operations of Ferrostaal Piping Supply, a German-Dutch pipe and tube trading company, to expand its reach in the German and Central-European markets.

Sweden’s SSAB tells Kallanish that it has launched a new grade of hot-rolled high strength flat steel.

The so-called Strenx 1100 Plus strip steel is designed with improve bending and welding properties, the steelmaker says. This makes it particularly suitable for use in lifting sector applications such as booms, frames, cranes and other lifting equipment.

“This new steel grade gives customers and end users lighter yet stronger equipment that can reach farther, increase payload and improve fuel economy. Strenx 1100 Plus is designed to help boost overall performance and productivity,” SSAB says.

Traditionally, weld seams can represent weak links in the highest grades of structural steels such as S1100 and S900. With its new material, such weld weaknesses are virtually eliminated “… because the strength, elongation and impact toughness properties of the welded area meet the minimum guarantees of the base material,” SSAB adds.

“Buying patterns are changing in the market … people are reluctant to purchase [but] the mills are slow in starting to accept reality with lower prices and shorter lead times,” a west European distribution center source told Platts this week adding that he believed Eur490/mt was possible for larger volume transactions.

Lead times for hot-rolled coil have been shortening in recent weeks with some mills reported to now be offering four weeks delivery ex-works Ruhr basis and five-to-six weeks in cold-rolled — indicative of lighter order books from the European mills.

A Netherlands-based service center manager said he saw tradable value around Eur490/mt in HRC adding “the mills have been saying they are well booked but this is not the case … now it’s a question of who gets nervous first?” The service center manager said however he did not see an prolonged move lower from current levels due to increasing raw materials costs.

The Platts Iron Ore IODEX 62% CFR North China index was set Monday at $95.55/mt its highest level since trading at $94.70/mt on February 8 in the wake of the Vale Brumadinho dam disaster.

A French service center manager said “We all hoped for higher prices in the second quarter of the year but this has not happened and we are now almost booking for summer deliveries – the mills have limited possibilities.” He added that he was seeing tradable value in HRC at Eur500/mt ex-works Ruhr.

A German distributor said further declining automotive demand has been weighing on prices. “The autos have not been taking their agreement call-off volumes each month so there is extra metal to sell,” he said, adding that they saw tradable value at Eur495/mt in HRC and as low as Eur580/mt in CRC, both basis ex-works Ruhr.

A central European mill source confirmed they were also seeing declining demand with tradable value for HRC seen between Eur495 and Eur500/mt ex-works Ruhr.

An east European mill source said, ”there is no demand … people who bought in February and March in fear of higher prices no longer need to buy – if any mills can bring forward scheduled maintenance now is a good time.”

— Len Griffin

Sweden’s SSAB tells Kallanish that it has launched a new grade of hot-rolled high strength flat steel.

The so-called Strenx 1100 Plus strip steel is designed with improve bending and welding properties, the steelmaker says. This makes it particularly suitable for use in lifting sector applications such as booms, frames, cranes and other lifting equipment.

“This new steel grade gives customers and end users lighter yet stronger equipment that can reach farther, increase payload and improve fuel economy. Strenx 1100 Plus is designed to help boost overall performance and productivity,” SSAB says.

Traditionally, weld seams can represent weak links in the highest grades of structural steels such as S1100 and S900. With its new material, such weld weaknesses are virtually eliminated “… because the strength, elongation and impact toughness properties of the welded area meet the minimum guarantees of the base material,” SSAB adds.

EU safeguard quotas for imports of rebar and wire rod from “other countries” were exhausted a week after they opened, according to the official European Commission website.

Importers are starting already to keep material for July in the ports and there are expectations that again the Turkish quotas will be filled up just days from July 1.

The existing quotas ran from April 1 to the end of June for 139,270 mt of rebar and 78,000 mt of wire rod from “other countries,” meaning that in the first week of April those precise volumes entered the EU, with market sources agreeing that most of that came from Turkey and Russia, as their country-specific allocations were quickly filled on February 9.

EU importers can still buy from Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Switzerland, Moldova and Belarus without facing the 25% cap duty. As of Monday they can still import 18,948 mt of rebar from Ukraine, 26,000 mt from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 11,000 mt from Moldova. Rod importers can still import from Ukraine (90,796 mt), Switzerland (66,793 mt), Belarus (83,000 mt) and Moldova (34,820 mt), according to the EC website.

Due to the import limitations, some importers are starting to feel the pressure. “For this second half of the year now hard times are on their way,” a Netherlands-based importer said. “For example for us it is difficult to import from Switzerland as no one produces a commodity grade of rod that we need; or from Ukraine for example, where they are finding it hard to export at the moment.”

One Germany-based trader said all eyes are on the July quota allocation, although he said there was “definitely no shortage” of rebar in Europe. However, he said rod buyers, particularly independent wire rod drawers, were in for a hard time as they depend increasingly on imports.

“From Turkey there is a huge risk [of having to pay the 25% tariff], because everyone will try for customs clearing on July 1. If you have a delay, you may have your material there, but then you can’t import without a tariff,” he said. “For ‘all other countries,’ trade flows are changing, not by market requirements but by political interference.”

One UK importer of rebar, who imports large volumes from Turkey, said: “We cannot currently run the risk of buying Turkish material because we fear that the quota material will be filled in a few days,” he said. “We struggled with customs clearing on February 1 and April 1.”

“I find it surprising that there is no trade body that is willing to count export sales to Europe so we can avoid this risk in our purchases,” he added. “By the time it [the rebar] is imported it’s too late for all of us; someone should be counting what has been imported into the EU [in a more timely manner].”

— Annalisa Villa and Pascal Dick

Sweden’s SSAB tells Kallanish that it has appointed BE Group as a so-called SSAB Laser Certified Partner. BE Group, a distributor also headquartered in Sweden, is a long-standing partner of SSAB in trading hot rolled plate, strip and tubular products, the steelmaker says.

The SSAB Laser steel product has been especially developed for laser cutting and cold forming. It has guaranteed flatness both before and after laser cutting, SSAB adds.

The SSAB Laser distribution network now consists of 22 dedicated partners in 13 countries in Europe. BE Group now joins this network in Finland and the Baltics.

“A growing number of customers can benefit from fast, problem-free cutting with shorter production time, less need for rework and greater precision in the cut components since the network of partners is given thorough training in both the product and its applications,” says Jouni Rättyä, Senior Cross Product Manager at SSAB Europe.

The EU is unlikely to be willing to renegotiate the conditions of its safeguard quota on rebar imports, while importers face the risk of material being stuck at port because it did not clear Customs on time. This was the conclusion of the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association (Irepas) traders committee.

On Turkey’s 300,000-tonne rebar quota under the EU safeguard system, Duferco’s Wilhelm Alff said there is a huge risk that some material imported will not clear Customs in time. It will therefore be stuck at port until the new quota allocation opens. Participants at Monday’s Irepas meeting in Barcelona slammed the small quota tonnage. “It’s 15 vessels of 20,000t for the whole of Europe,” Alff observed. Baysal added: “300,000t is a joke.”

Alff added, however, that nobody has complained thus far about a lack of rebar supply in the EU. “For rebar there is definitely no shortage,” he said at the meeting attended by Kallanish. European producers say “…we totally overestimated the demand and we underestimated the flexibility and production, the utilisation which was made by European mills, and all these volumes can be easily absorbed.” Brussels is unlikely to be willing to renegotiate the rebar quota, he added.

Simone Jordan of Ronly argued for the creation of a system to record Turkish export sales to the EU in real time. This is in order to track the tonnage already on its way and reduce the likelihood of importers exceeding the quota. Baysal suggested the creation of a European steel importers’ association that could lobby for more support, while Alff agreed that all the burden is currently placed on the importer. It would, however, be difficult to create such a system, Alff added.

The EU did consider an import licence system that would permit holders to import quota-free steel. But Brussels ultimately decided against this because they said it would result in the “… mismanagement of volumes because big importers may buy the entire quota at a time; they have the money, they have the funds, they can handle it, and the smaller ones will suffer,” Alff commented.

A West Midlands, UK steel stockist has entered administration, it has announced. Meridian Metal Trading is now being managed by administrators it confirms in a message on its website.

The company, headquartered in Dudley, employs over 160 people in five locations across the UK. These include steel service centres in Dudley, Sheffield and Guildford, and regional offices in Bolton and Newport in South Wales.

It is continuing to operate and is now being managed by joint administrators from Duff and Phelps who were appointed on 2 April.   

The company supplies hot rolled coil, hot dipped galvanized, cold reduced low carbon steel and electro-plated steel strip. It offers slitting, sheet and plate decoiling, blanking and shearing services.

Meridian offers no further information on the administration. Local media reports monitored by Kallanish suggest that the company had been in talks with its five main suppliers, credit insurers and Secure Trust Bank for months after a potential sale fell through. Meridian has also been having to pre-pay for steel, the reports say.