Andritz to modernize voestalpine’s hot-dip galvanizing line in Linz
Andritz has received an order from voestalpine to modernise the electrical and automation systems of a hot-dip galvanizing line at the steel mill in Linz, Austria.
The processing line has been continuously modernised since it began operations in 1973. Over the years, numerous rebuilds and upgrades have resulted in the use of a variety of electrical and automation systems, Kallanish understands.
The technology supplier says it will replace this variety with a unified, consistent, and user-friendly electrical and automation system that supports efficient operation. To minimise the impact on production, it will implement the modernisation in several stages, with completion scheduled for the end of 2028.
The order underscores the long-standing cooperation between the two Austrian groups, Andritz notes.
Christian Koehl Germany
UK, Taiwan, Serbia underutilise EU tinplate quota
China and the “other countries” category have significantly utilised their EU tariff-rate quota (TRQ) tin mill products allocation for 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024, Kallanish notes from the EU customs portal.
China’s 112,139-tonne quota, the largest among all countries, is practically fully utilised, with a balance of only 522 tonnes still available.
The countries subject to safeguard measures used up their entire 38,227t allocation for Q4 already by 26 November, and have no available quota.
South Korea has only 1,108t available for tin mill products in Q4.
The United Kingdom has the largest remaining balance, with 43,606t available, representing 71% of its total TRQ allocation for Q4.
Taiwan has 9,378t still available, representing 56% of its total Q4 allocation.
Serbia has 8,215t of tin mill product allocation, or 33%, still available for Q4.
| Origin | Quota 01.10.24-31.12.24 |
Transferred | Total | Balance | Awaiting allocation | Avaliable | Available TRQ % |
| China | 112,139 | 3,407 | 115,546 | 945 | 423 | 522 | 0 |
| UK | 40,903 | 20,103 | 61,006 | 44,166 | 560 | 43,606 | 71 |
| Serbia | 22,509 | 2,257 | 24,767 | 8,605 | 390 | 8,215 | 33 |
| South Korea | 16,282 | 1,421 | 17,703 | 1,108 | – | 1,108 | 6 |
| Taiwan | 13,538 | 3,204 | 16,741 | 9,378 | – | 9,378 | 56 |
| Countries subject to safeguard measures |
37,515 | – | 38,227 | – | – | – | – |
Source: EU TARIC, as of 10 December. Calculated by Kallanish
Elina Virchenko UAE
ArcelorMittal Poland appoints Koszuta chairman
ArcelorMittal Poland (AMP) has appointed chief executive Wojciech Koszuta as chairman of the board, replacing long-standing chairman Sanjay Samaddar who becomes supervisory board chairman.
Samaddar will continue in his role as country head Poland and ceo of ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products.
“I am exceptionally privileged to have been associated with ArcelorMittal Poland for 20 glorious years, in various roles as CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors. The 20 years jubilee, which we celebrated this year was a perfect opportunity for summing up these two decades, during which we have tried to play a leading role in the development of the steel industry in Poland – despite crises and challenging market situations,” Samaddar says.
Koszuta has been with AMP since 2000, for 18 months as ceo.
At the European Economic Congress in Katowice in May, he highlighted the firm’s recent investments in its BF-based production route but conceded that decarbonisation will influence its production process in the medium term (see Kallanish passim).
AMP is building a natural gas-based hydrogen plant at its Krakow re-rolling site to feed the two galvanizing lines at the location. The PLN 100 million ($24.2m) plant, being set up by Linde, will see hydrogen production begin at the end of 2026. Its flagship Dabrowa Gornicza steelworks, which supplies Krakow with slab, will soon need to choose whether to transform to EAF steelmaking or prolong BF-based production.
Adam Smith Poland
IREPAS Short Range Outlook: December 2024
The International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association (IREPAS) has published a Short Range Outlook for December 2024, offering an analysis of global market dynamics in the steel and rebar industries.
Global longs market enters holiday season, but deep uncertainties lie ahead next year
The global long steel products market has mostly entered the holiday period. In many markets, business will start moving only after January 13. Many uncertain factors lie ahead for the post-holiday period, including the situation regarding Chinese exports, the actions likely to be taken by the new US administration and the difficulties faced by the steel industry in Europe.
Chinese stimulus measures so far not expected to have huge impact on exports
In the short term, the Asian markets are speculating on the positive sentiment from China, but it is hard to see how it will convert into real upward movement. It seems the Chinese government is going to make another attempt to increase liquidity to stimulate domestic demand. However, domestic prices are still very low in China and so the potential short-term impact on exporters will probably be limited and they will not change current export volumes until the Chinese steel industry slows down production. However, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has pledged that China will meet its ambitious GDP growth target of five percent this year and remain the engine of global economic expansion, and so no production cuts would be anticipated. As a result, steel prices in the international markets, except in the US, will suffer going forward.
What are the prospects for Chinese steel exports in Q1?
The important sectors in the Chinese domestic economy, steel in general, and construction and manufacturing, are all in deflationary mode. Steel exports from China have increased during the fourth quarter. It is yet to be seen if Chinese exporters have already booked export orders for the first quarter. They may not have full export order books as demand and prices from overseas customers have fallen further and quantities are less.
Energy prices in Europe surge to 2022 levels, mills announce shutdowns
In the meantime, energy prices have surged to very high levels again in Europe, levels not seen since 2022, and mills in the region have started announcing shutdowns. Usually, this would push prices up but in the current low season we have to wait and see what happens.
Weak demand in Europe, luckily prices have not fallen even further
The market in Europe is still extremely challenging. Domestic producers are holding prices low to fight against imports and to collect any orders they can. But there is no way for them to reduce their prices further as their costs simply do not allow that. Demand is very weak. Many benders are still accepting long-term projects at price levels which do not correspond to current replacement costs. Mills are taking measures to reduce offers by working shorter hours or stopping liquid steel production for a few months. Nevertheless, it is a good sign that prices have not slid down any further despite the approach of the end of the year.
New US administration may trigger even greater difficulties for global long steel trade
Trade in the global long steel products market may enter a period of even greater difficulties with the change in the US administration. Proposed additional duties may trigger other countries to retaliate and it may soon become more difficult to trade globally.
Difficult winter anticipated for US domestic steel market
US domestic mills have been keeping prices low and are still offering discounts on already low prices. In addition, most US buyers, not trusting import price guarantees, refrain from ordering their usual quantities. Interest rates have eased a bit, but are still on the high side for investments. In short, a not so pleasant winter is expected in the US steel market. On the other hand, US domestic scrap pricing for December is expected to be down, for the first time in two decades.
Market is unstable with difficult and unpredictable outlook
Under these circumstances, the situation in the global longs market, where competition remains very tough and more local than global, may be described as unstable and complicated with a difficult unpredictable outlook.
Source: irepas.com
EU organic coated sheet TRQ depletes, UK, Korea allocation remains
Most countries have fully utilised their EU tariff rate quota (TRQ) allocations for organic coated sheet (PPGI), with the exception of the United Kingdom and South Korea, which still retain a portion of their quotas, Kallanish notes from the EU customs portal.
The UK leads with 31,806 tonnes available, representing 67% of its total TRQ for the fourth quarter, while South Korea has 7,011t remaining, equivalent to 9% of its quota.
By contrast, Taiwan and Turkey have completely exhausted their EU TRQs, using up their Q4 allocations of 25,526t and 15,889t by 28 November and 1 November, respectively. India, which has the largest TRQ allocation for PPGI of 79,455t, has also nearly fully consumed its quota, with only a negligible balance remaining.
The “other countries” quota has also been depleted.
| Origin | Quota 01.10.24-31.12.24 |
Transferred | Total | Balance | Awaiting allocation | Avaliable | Available TRQ % |
| India | 79,455 | – | 79,455 | 54 | – | 54 | 0 |
| South Korea | 71,809 | 7,811 | 79,620 | 7,135 | 125 | 7,011 | 9 |
| United Kingdom | 35,256 | 12,551 | 47,807 | 32,262 | 456 | 31,806 | 67 |
| Taiwan | 23,014 | 2,512 | 25,526 | – | – | – | 0 |
| Türkiye | 15,889 | – | 15,889 | – | – | – | 0 |
| Other countries | 43,332 | – | 43,332 | 26 | – | 26 | 0 |
Source: EU TARIC, as of 10 December. Calculated by Kallanish
Elina Virchenko UAE
ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products invests in sustainable transport
ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products is decarbonising its logistics and restructuring transport activities, according to chief marketing officer Laurent Plasman and head of transport & logistics David De Rocker.
In 2023, the division successfully delivered 20 million tonnes of steel to customers through multiple transportation methods. Road transport constituted approximately 38%. The company is currently improving its rail transport capabilities and evaluating the potential for maritime shipping options. Rail cargo accounts for 42% of the steelmaker’s flat steel shipments in Europe, Kallanish notes.
Investment in electric truck trials is progressing, while the steelmaker is evaluating trucks powered by hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) across ten countries. This initiative has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80%, compared to the standard 65g per tonne kilometre associated with diesel-powered trucks.
In 2022, ArcelorMittal initiated a strategic partnership with Geodis at the Florange facility located in eastern France. Florange successfully transported 190,000 tonnes of steel across a distance of 579,833 km utilising HVO trucks, resulting in a reduction of approximately 794 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The company also initiated a collaboration with DB Cargo in Europe for rail cargo operations in 2021. DB Cargo has introduced a sustainable logistics solution known as DB Eco Plus. It assesses the energy needs for particular transport tasks ahead of time and subsequently acquires the necessary volume of renewable energy. The CO2 reduction realised by each mode of transport is verified by auditor TÜV.
“Customers are increasingly looking for whole lifecycle carbon reductions to satisfy their end users, and we equally are determined to be at the forefront of offering comprehensive low carbon transport solutions, not least to support our growing XCarb® low carbon-emissions product portfolio,” a company note concludes.
ArcelorMittal announced last month it was suspending some decarbonisation investments in Europe, including the direct reduced iron-electric arc furnace transformation at Dunkirk, until it secured policy clarity (see Kallanish passim).
“We remain committed to decarbonising our assets in Europe and continue to fine-tune the engineering studies we have been undertaking this year, but no final investment decisions have yet been taken,” a company spokesperson says. “We are operating in a difficult market, and there are a number of policy uncertainties that are impacting the industry. We need an effective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as well as more robust trade defence measures, to strengthen the business case.”
However, ArcelorMittal’s investments in Spain are advancing as the country increases its access to clean energy sources like solar, wind, and nuclear power.
Natalia Capra France
German mechanical engineering expects further decline in 2025
The mechanical and plant engineering industry in Germany is expecting a decline in production in 2025, albeit smaller than this year, Kallanish hears from its association, VDMA.
Production in the mechanical and plant engineering sector fell by 6.8% on-year in the first ten months this year, according to provisional figures. “For 2024 as a whole, we continue to expect production to fall by 8% compared to the previous year,” VtDMA president Bertram Kawlath said at the association’s annual press conference in Frankfurt.
In 2025, falling interest rates should not only benefit consumption, but also global willingness to invest and initiate an economic recovery, VDMA says. However, no significant upturn is expected in the global economy, Kallanish understands.
“Key negative factors such as wars and protectionism as well as structural disruptions will remain with us. We must therefore continue to expect a lot of headwinds and therefore confirm our forecast that the machinery and equipment manufacturing sector will see a production decline of 2% in 2025,” said Kawlath.
In order to strengthen Germany and Europe as a business location, VDMA is therefore calling for a significant turnaround in economic policy. In particular, the VDMA president called on the future German government to stop weakening small and medium-sized industrial companies and to give them urgently needed room to conduct business. “Above all, the federal government must reduce bureaucracy and reduce costs,” he demanded.
That would mean relief from reporting obligations, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are disproportionately affected. Examples include the Supply Chain Act and obligation to submit various sustainability reports, VDMA says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Auto suppliers change lanes in EU coil talks
In the ongoing negotiations for long-term coil supply contracts for 2025, EU automotive suppliers remain in wait-and-see mode until steelmakers have come to terms with the big carmakers. They prefer to have steel volumes negotiated by the carmakers directly.
In principle, the suppliers need to get a clear idea of the pricing struck one level up between the bigger parties. They need to make sure their own steel intake prices are in step with those of the OEMs, so that they can operate profitably. This was not always the case in the past, a buyer at a tier-1 supplier cautions.
“The last two years we had higher [steel] prices than the OEMs, and ended up with losses in our own negotiations with the OEMs,” the buyer tells Kallanish.
In comparison with one year ago, OEMs are currently heard asking for a price reduction exceeding €100/tonne ($105). This is already a big revision on the €200/t reduction demanded in October.
Against that, mills are offering tier suppliers a y-o-y reduction of merely €20-40/t, which the suppliers find unacceptable, the buyer says. “We tell the mills: strike a deal with the OEMs first, and we want the same price,” he states. “We cannot accept a difference of even €1.”
He says he is willing to reduce his tonnage ordered from EU mills directly and shift to pooled deals bargained by the OEMs. Many tiers prefer to have some of their steel volumes negotiated by their bigger customers, the OEMs, in pooling-by-retail. “That means you hand over some of your control,” but it is likely to lead to better steel prices, the buyer notes.
According to him, pooling often means a disadvantage for mills, which prefer to have direct deals with suppliers. Many suppliers have retained a wait-and-see attitude, but once the first deals are struck, the next ones will follow quickly. “We are talking daily, but the gap between figures is still wide,” the buyer concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany
US leads available EU stainless CRC TRQ
Significant portions of EU fourth-quarter tariff rate quota (TRQ) allocations for stainless cold-rolled sheet and strip remain available for several countries, with the exception of Taiwan and Turkey, Kallanish notes from the EU customs portal.
Taiwan completely exhausted its allocation of 46,583 tonnes on 28 October. Turkey consumed 85% of its allocation, leaving only 3,493t available out of a Q4 allocation of 22,910t.
South Korea, having the largest single-country allocation of 63,756t in Q4, has 29,845t or 47% still available. South Africa has also shown moderate usage, with 14,817t or 48% of its TRQ available.
Countries subject to safeguard measures have 70,101t or 64% of their total TRQ allocation available.
India has also underutilised its Q4 quota allocation, having 45,863t or 84% of its allocation available as of 11 December.
The US has the highest available quota, with 45,955t remaining, representing 97% of its total Q4 allocation.
| Origin | Quota 01.10.24- 31.12.24 |
Transferred | Total | Balance | Awaiting allocation |
Available | Available TRQ % |
| South Korea | 50,182 | 13,575 | 63,756 | 35,014 | 5,169 | 29,845 | 47 |
| Taiwan | 46,535 | 48 | 46,583 | – | – | – | – |
| India | 31,103 | 23,381 | 54,483 | 46,027 | 164 | 45,863 | 84 |
| South Africa | 27,064 | 3,607 | 30,672 | 14,958 | 141 | 14,817 | 48 |
| United States | 25,305 | 22,190 | 47,496 | 45,990 | 34 | 45,955 | 97 |
| Türkiye | 21,057 | 1,853 | 22,910 | 3,546 | 53 | 3,493 | 15 |
| Countries subject to safeguard measures | 66,853 | 42,373 | 109,226 | 70,488 | 387 | 70,101 | 64 |
| United Kingdom* | 32 | 22 | 54 | 49 | – | 49 | 90 |
*to Northern Ireland from other parts of the UK
Source: EU TARIC, as of 11 December. Calculated by Kallanish
Elina Virchenko UAE
US extends rebar AD order on 7 nations, including Poland and Latvia
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that antidumping duties on imports of rebar from seven nations should not be removed, Kallanish discovers in a federal document.
“Revocation of the antidumping duty orders on rebar from Belarus, China, Indonesia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time,” the ITC writes in a notice circulated Thursday.
The latest determination is a result of a fourth round of five-year sunset reviews.
After the prior review in 2018, the Department of Commerce issued average dumping margins of 114.53% for Belarus, 133% for China, 71.01% for Indonesia, 16.99% for Latvia, 232.86% for Moldova, 52.07% for Poland and 41.69% for Ukraine. Commerce’s case originated in 2001.
The AD order includes all steel concrete reinforcing bars sold in straight lengths. Excluded are plain round bars and processed rebar that has been bent or coated.
Dom Yanchunas USA