Category: Latest Updates

Czech Republic-based steelmaker Trinecke Zelezarny is set to produce about 2.5 million mt of crude steel in 2022, up from 2.4 million recorded in 2021, the company’s spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights on June 7.

Demand was reported to be good, with the company working close to its 2.6 million mt/year capacity and not endangered by the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We have set up production processes to react promptly to the latest developments of the situation in Ukraine and to ensure a sufficient supply of raw materials,” the spokesperson explained. “We are working intensively on strengthening the range of suppliers to ensure smooth operation of our facilities.”

The company will also start implementing some specific projects to reduce carbon emissions, cutting its emissions by more than a half by 2030, the spokesperson confirmed to S&P Global.

The first to be started next year is the construction of a new emission-free briquetting line with a capacity of up to 500,000 mt of briquettes per year, which will replace the steel sinter plant and partially the blast furnace sinter.

The investment costs will reach CZK 950 million ($41 million) for which the company plans to finance part of the costs from a subsidy of the Modernisation Fund in amount of CZK 405 million, for which it has applied and is awaiting notification from the European authorities. The line is expected to be operational in mid-2025.

“There are 820-850 kg of CO2 emissions per tonne of steel plant sinter produced,” Jan Czudek, the CEO of the company stated. “Thanks to the briquetting line [cold joining material necessary for pig iron production]. Emissions will be significantly reduced by up to 70,000 mt per year,” Czudek explained. The consumption of coke and coke dust, which is sintered together with limestone and ore at the sintering plants, will also be reduced.

The company’s green investments will have several projects including a partial switch to a modern electric arc furnace technology, and steel production from scrap.

“We have been preparing the necessary steps to incorporate a higher proportion of scrap into the production flow. However, it must be said openly that this will require a clear European Union policy on scrap trade and sufficient amount of renewable energy,” Czudek underscored.

Many European steelmakers have been vocal about the importance of scrap and the need to somehow try and keep it inside the borders with the scrap labelled as “the new gold.”

Platts Turkish import of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) was assessed at $435/mt CFR June 6, unchanged from June 1.

— Annalisa Villa

Downward sentiment prevailed in the European hot-rolled coil market June 7 because of low demand from end-users and distributors.

Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe at Eur950/mt ex-works Ruhr, stable day on day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

Deals made by two German mills have been reported at Eur950/mt ex-works Ruhr. Some sources also reported offers and achievable prices at the same level.

One source said those mills might give discounts of about Eur10/mt to some customers.

A distributor reported that some mills made deals at Eur900/mt ex-works Ruhr to fill order books, but the information was not widely confirmed. Two other market participants, however, said that such low prices could be achieved for big volumes or for coil with high extras, but that such prices have been below the average market level.

In addition, three sources estimated tradable value for HRC at Eur950-1,000/mt ex-works Ruhr.

Hot-rolled coil in South Europe was assessed at Eur890/mt ex-works Italy June 7, down Eur10/mt day on day.

Offers were heard at Eur900/mt ex-works, and tradable value was heard at Eur880-Eur900/mt ex-works Italy.

Trading activity has remained muted across the EU as distributors booked small volumes of coil to restock some specifications. Low demand of end-consumers and risks of further spot price decreases made buyers delay restocking.

“There are rumors about some mills giving massive discounts, and there are no updates about production cuts, so buyers can only wait until the situation becomes clear,” a Northern European distributor said.

European steelmakers were expected to reduce steel output to balance lower demand and supply. The mills, however, have not made any announcements on the issue yet.

“I still heard about production cuts during my conversations with the mills. But nothing follows, market remains in oversupply,” a trader said. “I heard that the mills are concerned that a stoppage of a blast furnace would be too expensive, and they hope that steel prices would recover without production cuts. I doubt that is possible.”

European steelmakers aim to finalize negotiations of third-quarter and second half of the year contracts with the automotive industry by the end of June. The mills might make a decision on the steel output reduction afterward when they have clearer ideas on the volumes required by long-term buyers, some sources said.

— Maria Tanatar

European importers of hot-rolled coil believe proposed amendments in EU steel safeguard measures for finished steel imports are unlikely to bring changes to the market and to reflect trade flow concerns.

On May 30, the European Commission sent a draft of proposed reviewed safeguard measures to the World Trade Organization. The document indicated that county-specific quotas will remain in place, but global quotas will be introduced for some other products, including heavy plate.

Importers claim, however, that in the coil segment the changed safeguards disregard reduced availability of HRC from Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion and the impact of sanctions against Russia on trade flows. Russia’s quota volumes have been redistributed among other exporters after the EU imposed sanctions.

In addition, the inclusion of Vietnam in the global hot-dipped galvanized quota will limit the number of sources, market participants believe. In the previous safeguard review, imports of HDG from Vietnam were not subject to the restrictions as material originating from a developing country.

“If anything, the measures that the commission proposed is only stated as liberation. In fact, it is further toughening of the measures,” a large Italian distributor said. “We now have Vietnam added into the global HDG quota. Global quotas for HRC would also make more sense, taking into the account the situation in Ukraine – they will not ship their regular volumes any time soon, export duties in India and sanctions against Russia. With weak demand like we have now, we might not see any impact, but if market followed the lockdown scenario of production stoppages and domestic shortage – lack of import will hit the buyers.”

The EC is scheduled to officially release the safeguard details by June 30, effective for one year starting July 1.

“The commission is prepared to gradually adapt the existing safeguard measures in response to the changing environment in trading of steel products,” Yuriy Rudyuk, a partner specializing in international trade with the law firm of Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels, said June 6.

“These amendments may seem minor in terms of the safeguard measures as a whole, however, for some specific product categories, we are about to see a major change in the approach,” he said.

Domestic prices for HRC have been declining in Europe since the second half of March due to weak demand. Platts daily assessments for HRC in Northern Europe declined to Eur975/mt ex-works Ruhr on June 1 and in Italy to Eur930/mt ex-works, down by Eur290/mt and Eur245/mt on month, respectively.

Indian exporters, meanwhile, have been offering only boron-added HRC into Europe in order for the material not to be subject to 15% export duties set in May. The latest offers of HRC from India have been heard at Eur800/mt CFR Italian ports, but the low price has failed to spur buyers’ interest as boron-added coil has limited use due to technical characteristics.

“I think we all hoped and agreed that global quotas for HRC would make sense,” a Northern European trader said. “But the commission decided against it, which leaves us with limited options of Asia with long lead times and global quotas, Turkey with anti-dumping duties, India with its export tax and Russia under sanction. So you can forget about it and Ukraine which can ship only small tonnages for now.”

A Turkish trader said he was not surprised by the decision to keep safeguards on HRC as they have been.

“The European Commission is usually slow in its reaction to changes,” the trader said. “And they disregarded impact of Russia, Ukraine and India situations. But in short-run there should be no changes in trade flaws.”

Rudyuk underscored how at this stage is possible to see only a rather schematic summary of the EC’s findings since the WTO notification May 30 follows a pre-determined format and it does not contain all the necessary details as we will have to wait until the second half of June when the Regulation with full details would be published in the Official Journal.

However, Rudyuk said that it is already clear that the amendments envisaged by the commission will concentrate on the three main areas. The first one is replacing the country-specific quotas by global quotas for the product categories 7 (quarto plates) and 17 (angles and shapes) due to the significant reduction in supply from Ukraine; the second main change is ending the preferences previously granted to the developing countries for the product category 4A (metallic coated sheets) where imports from all developing countries, including Vietnam, will now be made subject to the safeguard measures. The third point is increasing the liberalization rate from 3% to 4 % for all product categories.

— Maria Tanatar, Annalisa Villa

31.05.2022 von Hubert Hunscheidt

Der Anstieg der Erzeugerpreise um ebenfalls 13% in diesem Vergleichszeitraum belegt dies. Vor dem Hintergrund der globalen Lieferkettenprobleme sind Kapazitätsauslastung und Produktion gegenüber dem Vorjahresquartal zurückgegangen. Die Zulieferer zeigen sich ihrer Verantwortung bewusst und hielten die Beschäftigung ungeachtet der nachlassenden Auslastung stabil.

Die fragile Lage spiegelt sich deutlich im aktuellen Geschäftsklima der Zulieferer wider:

Aufgrund der noch guten Auftragsbestände liegt die Einstufung der aktuellen Lage noch im positiven Bereich. Die Verunsicherung durch die anhaltenden Lieferkettenprobleme sowie die explodierenden Rohstoff- und Energiepreise spiegelt sich in der überwiegend skeptischen Erwartungshaltung für den weiteren Jahresverlauf wider.

OEM verdienen Geld, die Zulieferer leiden unter dem Kostendruck

Der Kostenanstieg setzt viele Zulieferer massiv unter Druck. Der Vormaterialpreis ist nach wie vor auf historischen Höchstständen. Beispielsweise sind die Preise für viele Stähle – nachdem z.B. der Flachstahlpreis im März auf ein neues Rekordhoch geschossen ist und sich etwas abgekühlt hat – weiterhin hoch und belaufen sich teilweise in der Spitze immer noch auf das Doppelt gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Ähnliches gilt auch für NE-Metalle und die petrochemischen Polymere der Kautschuk- und Kunststoffindustrie, die zudem unter der eingeschränkten Verfügbarkeit leidet.

Zusätzlich kämpfen die Zulieferer mit hohen Energiekosten. Strom und Gas sind die wichtigsten Energieträger für industrielle Wärmeprozesse. Der Marktpreis für Strom (ohne staatliche Umlagen und Steuern) hat sich nach dem Ausbruch des Russland-Ukraine Krieges im März 2022 gegenüber dem Vorjahresmonat verdreifacht. Ebenso ist der Gaspreis mit einer Verdreifachung in die Höhe geschossen. Die staatlichen Maßnahmen zur Abfederung dieser Preisanstiege bewirken im Moment jedenfalls noch keine spürbare Erleichterung, viele Zulieferbetriebe haben auch keine Erleichterung durch das Maßnahmenpakt des Staates zu erwarten.

Es ist offensichtlich, dass die Zulieferer in ihrer Sandwich-Position leiden. Die marktmächtigen OEMs verzeichnen trotz geringerer Produktionszahlen hohe Gewinne. Ebenso trifft das auf viele Grundstoffhersteller z.B. aus den Bereichen Stahl und Chemie zu. Die mittelständischen Zulieferer dazwischen sind indes nicht in der Lage, die gestiegenen Kosten einfach weiter zu reichen. In dieser Situation müssen sich die großen Abnehmer im Sinne eines fairen Burden sharings bewegen und partnerschaftlicher mit den gemeinsamen Herausforderungen umgehen. Andernfalls wird es diese einzigartige Struktur der vielen innovativen, mittelständischen Zulieferbetriebe so nicht mehr geben. Zum Nachteil robuster europäischer Lieferketten und der wichtigen Zielsetzung einer nachhaltigen, klimafreundlichen Produktion, wie sie derzeit in Deutschland und Europa im Aufbau ist.

Die Energiepreiskrise muss gelöst werden. Wir begrüßen die Abschaffung der EEG-Umlage ab dem 1.7., dies wird den Strompreis weiter entlasten. Leider ist die Wirkung angesichts des Preisniveaus nicht spürbar. Eine weitere Entlastung der Energie von staatlichen Abgaben ist deshalb erforderlich, um auf in Europa vergleichbare und vor allem wettbewerbsfähige Energiepreise zu kommen. Beim Gas muss der CO2-Preis ausgesetzt werden, solange die Marktpreise so überdurchschnittlich hoch sind wie derzeit.

Lieferketten resilient machen, Nachhaltigkeitsziele erreichen, Fachkräfte sichern

Die Pandemie, der Halbleitermangel und der Russland-Ukraine Krieg haben gezeigt, dass die Wertschöpfungsketten vulnerabel sind und resilient gegen globale Krisen gemacht werden müssen. Die aktuelle Preisrallye auf den Rohstoffmärkten ist zum großen Teil eine Folge der europäischen Abhängigkeit von Russland und von China. Wichtig ist es, dass wir Kompetenzen in Deutschland und Europa erhalten und nicht verlieren. Dies gelingt über Diversifizierung und über bessere Produktionsmöglichkeiten in Europa. Die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette beginnend mit der Grundstoffindustrie muss in Europa angesiedelt sein. Hier müssen wir in Netzwerken und Verbünden denken und handeln. Auch die energieintensive Industrie am Beginn einer jeden industriellen Wertschöpfung muss weithin international wettbewerbsfähige Rahmenbedingungen in Europa vorfinden und hier produzieren. Das gilt genauso für die weiterverarbeitenden Industrien und die Hochtechnologien. Riskante Abhängigkeiten von anderen Regionen der Welt sollten durch ein Monitoring identifiziert und mittel- und langfristig soweit wie möglich vermieden bzw. reduziert werden.

Wichtig ist, dass die Industrie die gesetzten Nachhaltigkeitsziele konsequent weiterverfolgt. Auch die Zulieferindustrien müssen investieren, um die Klimaschutzziele zu erreichen. Z.B. müssen industrielle Wärmeprozesse auf klimaschonende Technologien umgestellt und Komponenten für neue Antriebsformen entwickelt werden. Das erfordert dauerhaft ausreichende Erträge, um die Investitionen zu stemmen und neue Anlagen zu betreiben. Die notwendigen finanziellen Spielräume müssen geschaffen werden durch niedrige staatliche Belastungen sowie auskömmliche Preise.

Neben den finanziellen Mitteln brauchen die Zulieferbetriebe auch qualifizierte Fachkräfte, um neue Technologien für den Klimaschutz zu entwickeln und einzusetzen. Hier ist es weiterhin von höchster Wichtigkeit, MINT-Fächer zu unterstützen und für eine hohe Zahl erfolgreicher Absolventinnen und Absolventen zu sorgen.

Quelle: ArGeZ / Foto: Fotolia

Turkish mills’ steel export volumes fell by 19.7% year on year in May to 1.63 million mt, but the revenue generated from these exports rose 11% on the year to $1.9 billion, Turkish Steel Exporters’ Union, or CIB, said June 6.

According to CIB data, Turkish mills’ steel export volumes totaled 8.78 million mt in the first five months of 2022, down 2.6% on the year, while the revenue generated from exports reached $9.6 billion, up 34.6%, amid globally higher steel pricing.

Turkish mills’ steel export prices were strong in March due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosting natural gas prices, which also raised mills’ raw material costs, as they import most of their inputs, like scrap, pig iron, coal and ferro silico manganese, from Russia and Ukraine.

Rebar export prices rose as high as $970/mt FOB on March 24, $280/mt higher than on Dec. 31, but have gradually declined to $745/mt FOB on June 1, amid slower demand and lower imported scrap prices, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

The EU region remained Turkey’s largest export destination in January-May at $3.35 billion, up 36.8% on the year, CIB said without citing the tonnage.

Among individual countries, Israel was Turkey’s top steel export market in January-May, followed by Romania and the US.

The most significant rise was seen in shipments to Egypt, where exports totaled $430 million over January-May, up 228% on the year, CIB said, also without the tonnage.

“Shipments to Canada and Morocco also rose sharply by 182% and 162% in that period,” CIB added.

Total January-May exports reached $1,095/mt, up 38.2% on the year, with CIB chairman Adnan Aslan saying June 6 that the union would continue its efforts to increase steel export volumes and find new export markets.

— Cenk Can

Seaborne iron ore prices increased further on Monday after a week of strong gains. Steel futures have begun to wobble, but raw materials prices remain firm on hopes of China’s re-opening.

The Kallanish KORE 62% Fe index increased another $3.15/tonne on Monday to $145/dry metric tonne cfr Qingdao, the highest since late April. The Kallanish KORE 65% Fe index gained $2.77/t to $168.07/dmt cfr, and the KORE 58% Fe index appreciated $3.30/t to $132.59/dmt cfr. 120,000t of Carajas Fines shipped on 31 May sold at $168.20/t.

On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, September iron ore settled up CNY 15/t at CNY 934/t ($140.54/t), while on the Singapore Exchange July 62% Fe futures settled up $1.15/t at $143.85/t. The same contract for 65% and 58% Fe futures settled up $1.14/t at $165.23/t, and up $1.07/t at $131.05/t respectively.

Chinese scrap prices have also appreciated, but billet prices, like steel futures (see separate article) have lost momentum. Grade 6mm+ heavy scrap delivered to mills in the Yangtze River Delta increased CNY 34/t from last Thursday to CNY 3,792/t. In Tangshan, billet remained flat at CNY 4,500/t.

Shanghai’s latest phase of reopening last week sent iron ore prices steadily higher, with the KORE 62% Fe index increasing $8.47/t over the week. There were some localised lockdowns on Monday however, which have sent jitters through steel markets. So far, no widespread lockdowns or cessation of business activities has occurred. Case numbers however did begin to pick up and speculators are waiting to see how local authorities react.

Tomas Gutierrez UK

Acerinox has ended preliminary talks with French stainless flat steelmaker Aperam over the possible combination of businesses, Kallanish learns from a Spanish producer’s note to the national securities market commission CNMV. On 3 June, both companies confirmed having discussions at a very early stage.

“Acerinox informs that the board of the company meeting today – 6 June – has unanimously agreed not to continue with the preliminary talks with Aperam to study a possible corporate operation,” the Spanish-headquartered stainless steel manufacturer says. No other details were disclosed.

According to Spanish analysts, one of the main reasons for not continuing with the possible merger is that the resulting company would exceed 45% of the market share in Europe, which should force the EU to reject the joint venture. The other possibility was that Acerinox and Aperam reduced their production capacity to match with competition authorities’ market share limits, normally set at 40%.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria

German-headquartered Mutares has announced the acquisition of Vallourec Bearing Tubes, the French company recently included in the divestment strategy of Vallourec Group.

“Headquartered in Montbard, Burgundy, in France, the company employs more than 200 people and generates revenues of approximately €50 million ($53.55m). Vallourec Bearing Tubes is a European manufacturer of seamless precision steel tubes produced to the most demanding standards. As the second-largest player in the European bearing tubes market, the company supplies its products to various industries such as bearings, mechanical and oil and gas,” Mutares explains in the note announcing the acquisition.

The unit will now be renamed VALTI.

“VALTI aims at enhancing its geographical coverage across Europe by taking advantage of the steel tube market upturn. With the support of Mutares’ operational consultants, the company’s management intends to strengthen its positions in the bearing industry focusing on contributive products, further develop its sales force and customer relationships,” Mutares says.

Mutares controls a number of companies globally, and is active in the automotive, engineering, mobility and services sectors, Kallanish notes.

Emanuele Norsa Italy

Steel market regionalisation started with the Trump era in the US and was followed by the imposition of EU quotas, but the US will not consider a ban on scrap exports, says International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association (Irepas) traders’ committee chairman F. D. Baysal.

“Later, this movement [protectionism] continued in a new dimension with Covid when producers realised that they should have inventories ready because of possible unforeseen interruptions, and also the supply chain issues which started with the pandemic escalated with ports being congested and many products arriving at the same time,” Baysal said at last week’s Irepas meeting in Istanbul attended by Kallanish.

“Higher freight rates and congestion, especially in the US, are a significant factor of higher steel prices. It takes almost a month to bring unloaded arrived goods waiting in the port to the buyer’s warehouse,” Baysal continued. “The shortage of truck drivers is a serious issue in the US. It may take six months to a year and freight rates really have to ease. Container prices have doubled, even quadrupled which is not sustainable.”

“Container lines deliberately pulled old containers out of circulation, causing shortages. However, the situation will change soon. There will also be more ships being built and that will change the whole equation, but it will take time, so higher prices are here to stay,” Baysal added.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Baysal commented: “In the first two months of the war, manufacturers depending on Russian and Ukrainian supplies for their production procured in panic, which elevated steel prices, but after Russian steel products, particularly billet, started to reach markets that do not recognise the sanctions, the rise in prices stopped and a decline began.”

Payments for Russian steel are facilitated through intermediary countries like Switzerland and Dubai, Baysal claimed. Unevenly applied sanctions create certain advantages for those countries that do not recognise the measures, he added.

“I don’t think there is an absolute winner [from the war situation], but countries that don’t recognise the sanctions have the upper hand, though for a short time,” Baysal concluded.

Burak Odabasi Turkey

Dans ce nouveau magazine, vous découvrirez non seulement des réalisations en acier, mais vous trouverez également plus d’infos sur la première version du nouveau RPC (Le Règlement Produit de Construction), plus d’informations sur notre Concours Construction Acier 2022 et le nouveaux livre ‘Composite Structures’ (Construction mixte acier-béton).

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