European steel stock levels drop in May

Steel shipments from European service centers and stockholders were lower in May year on year, the European Federation of Steel, Tubes and Metals Distribution & Trade (EUROMETAL) said Tuesday.

Shipments from flat steel service centers fell 6.3%, meaning the January-May total was down 1.3% versus the the same period last year.

EUROMETAL said the fall followed periods of “some overstocking,” primarily in coated products and that stocks were now closer to “normal” levels.

Sources said hand-to-mouth buying has prevailed since spring amid import uncertainty and a heavy restocking phase at the beginning of the year.

While the association does not specify volumes, EUROMETAL releases an index for stock levels with the average of 2015 equivalent to 100.

On that basis, stock levels at European flat steel distribution centers went down from 119 in May last year to 114 this May.

Shipments at multi-product distributors dipped 2% year on year in May but they were up 0.2% in the first five months of the year.

The stock volumes index was at 101 in May, compared with 103 last year.

Laura Varriale, SBB Daily Briefing

EU distribution activity declines in May

Distribution activity for steel products dipped significantly during May, according to the latest data disclosed to Kallanish by regional distributors’ association EUROMETAL.

During the month shipments from European flat steel service centres dropped by -6.3% year-on-year. This pulled down the aggregated figure for the first five months of the year by -1.3%, again y-o-y.

Despite the slowdown in activity in May, the association notes that “… after some overstocking, mainly in coated products, stocks of EU steel service centres are slowly coming back to normal.”

Multi products distributors also saw distribution activity reduce slightly by -2% y-o-y in May. Sales during the first five months of the year are in line with last year’s figures for the sector, EUROMETAL says.

EUROMETAL begrüßt G20-Statement

EUROMETAL begrüßt das Bekenntnis der G20 für freie Märkte, wie der Verband heute in einer Erklärung mitteilt. Der internationale Verband der Stahlhändler sieht es demnach positiv, dass die G20-Staaten laut ihrer Abschlusserklärung weiterhin eine Verringerung der weltweiten Stahlüberkapazitäten anstreben und freie und faire Regeln unterstützen, um im internationalen Stahlhandel gleichberechtigte Wettbewerbsbedingungen zu schaffen.

YISAD has elected a new board

The Turkish “Flat Steel Import, Export and Industry Association” YISAD has elected a new board.

YISAD, based in Istanbul, was established in 2003 and represents the complete scope of the flat steel sector: hot rolled, cold rolled & galvanized flat steel producers, steel service centers, distributors, traders and tube mills operating in the Turkish steel market.

A main focus of YISAD activities are all aspects regarding the flat steel supply chains.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President                            GOKMETAL                      Gökhan DEMİRUZ

Vice President                   TATMETAL                       Akın TATOĞLU

Vice President                   COLAKOGLU                    M. Tayfun İŞERİ

General Secretary            SAMI SOYBAS DEMIR    Ahmet SOYBAŞ

Accountant member       DEMPAS                             Ahmet ÖZKAN

Board member                 AGIR HADDECILIK         Mustafa AÇIKALIN

Board member                 SERGEN METAL              H. Tuncay SERGEN

Board member                 GUNER METAL                Abdullah AKGÜN

Board member                 YAMETAS                           Mehmet Ali FİNCAN

Board member                 TUFAN DEMIR                 İhsan DANACIOĞLU

Board member                 COSKUN METAL             Adil COŞKUN

Supervisory Board

Member                             AKMETAL                           Mustafa Kemal AKMERMER

Member                             TRN METAL                       Mustafa TORUN

Member                             NAZAL METAL                  Halit ÖZARSLAN

YISAD – Yassı Çelik İthalat, İhracat ve Sanayicileri Derneği
Küçükbakkalköy Mahallesi, Kayışdağı Cd. No:37 D:16
34750 Ataşehir/İstanbul
Turkey

yisad@yisad.org.tr

www.yisad.org.tr

Tata Steel and thyssenkrupp agree to European merger

One of the longest-running acquisition sagas in the European steel arena has been settled. Tata Steel and thyssenkrupp AG signed definitive agreements on 30 June to combine their European steel businesses in a 50/50 joint venture in a new company, Tata Steel confirms to Kallanish. This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2017. The transaction is subject to merger control clearance in several jurisdictions, including the European Union.

The speculation surrounding the conditions of this deal has been rife for several months as the two companies hammered out the details of the merger. There have been many red herrings thrown out by the popular media in recent months regarding disagreements on respective company performances, ownership ratio and trade union discord. The companies and the unions meanwhile have come to a consensus as initially proposed and within the agreed timeframe.

“The proposed new company, to be named thyssenkrupp Tata Steel B.V., will be positioned as a leading pan-European high-quality flat steel producer with a strong focus on performance, quality and technology leadership. The joint venture is built on the strong foundations of common value systems and a long heritage in the industry,” Tata Steel says.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Steel, says that “… This is a significant milestone for Tata Steel and we remain fully committed to the long-term interest of the joint venture company. We are confident that this company will create value for all stakeholders.”

“We will create a highly competitive European steel player – based on a strong industrial logic and strategic rationale. We will secure jobs and contribute to maintaining value chains in European core industries,” comments thyssenkrupp AG ceo Heinrich Hiesinger.

Until closing, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel in Europe still operate as separate companies and as competitors. Only after closing, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel in Europe will be integrated as one company.

There was some especially good news for the UK operations of Tata Steel in Port Talbot which had reportedly been under threat from the merger, once again according to now-incorrect general media speculation. Tata has committed to the future of the plant until at least 2026 (see related article).