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voda 23 januari 2017 16:50

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Budget wish list - Forging industry expects lower power tariff

Economic Times reported that Indian foundry sector, whose 30% supplies goes to automotive industries, expects favourable power and electricity tariffs from the upcoming Union Budget 2017 scheduled to be presented on February 1.

Talking to ETAuto, Mr Anil Vaswani president, The Institute of Indian Foundrymen said that “Power is one major challenge foundries are India are facing right now. So, rationalisation of power is very important. We are hoping for favourable electricity and power tariffs from Budget 2017.”

Electricity is a problem in many states; major power cuts are an issue industries face. Though national grid is now allowing buying and selling of power, yet widely differing tariff rates creates a problem.

It is also expecting major government investments in infrastructure sector; as such steps have a cascading effect on the whole economy, thus, eventually helping the foundries.

Speaking about the challenges, the sector is facing right now, Mr Vaswani said that “Overall global demand in last 3 to 4 years has dropped; automotive was going through a tough phase in last couple of years; it has picked up again. However, demand is still low lot of foundries is running at 50-70% less than full capacity.”

Currently, the Indian foundry industry is the third largest in the world with 10.7 million tonnes castings produced annually.

Another challenge is of financing. Banks are always cautious in giving loans, and even if they agree the process is in itself very tiresome. So, it becomes difficult for people to finish their investment.

Foundry sector has high hopes from Goods and Services (Tax) also. “We want foundries should move from 18 percent slab to 12 percent slab because it’s a mother industry, it has lot of raw materials, heavy costs, and employs so many people. By lowering tax, you are making it more globally competitive by giving cost advantage.”

The apex national industry body for Indian foundry and metal castings industries thinks GST will certainly simply things a lot. For example, trucks won’t be stopped at every state borders for taxes, thereby simplifying shipping castings across the country.

Source : Economic Times

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voda 23 januari 2017 16:51

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Taiwanese Chun Yuan Steel bullish on China

Taipei Times reported that Chun Yuan Steel Industry Co said that it expects revenue contribution from China to increase from 25% to 30% this year, aided by Beijing’s supply-side reforms. China has been cutting steel capacity to solve oversupply problems. The nation’s target to cut steel capacity by 45 million tonnes last year was achieved by the end of October, China’s National Development and Reform Commission said in November last year, with further plans to cut annual capacity through 2020.

Mr Chun Yuan spokesman Hung Shih-ming on the sidelines of an investors’ conference in Taipei said that “We are upbeat about the business outlook in the Chinese market, because China’s recent reforms have ensured price stability in the industry.” He said that “In addition, improving demand in China’s construction industry is expected to boost our shipments this year.”

Headquartered in Taipei, Chun Yuan provides hot-rolled steel sheets, electrical steel, steel products for structural engineering and automated storage systems.

The 52-year-old company operates five subsidiaries in China, as well as factories in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District, Taoyuan’s Longtan District and Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District.

Source : Taipei Times

voda 23 januari 2017 16:52

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India draft steel policy to enable INR 10 lakh crore investments

The Hindu reported that Indian steel ministry has proposed setting up greenfield steel plants along India’s coastline to tap cheap imported raw materials such as coking coal and export the output in a more cost-effective manner, as part of the new draft National Steel Policy of 2017.

The policy, which envisages to more than double India’s domestic steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030-31, anticipates a requirement of INR 10 lakh crore of fresh investments to meet that goal and expects at least 11 lakh new jobs being created in the process. The steel sector presently employs about 25 lakh people and has a capacity of little over 120 million tonnes.

However, some elements of the policy, on which comments have been sought till January 23, are still work in progress, such as its vision statement, for instance.

The draft policy lays out two alternatives of its vision “to create a globally competitive steel industry that promotes inter-sectoral growth” or “to create a self-sufficient steel industry that is technologically advanced, globally competitive and promotes inclusive growth.”

While it focuses on impediments like high input costs, availability of raw materials, import dependency and financial stress plaguing the sector, projections made under the policy for a couple of factors are all still under discussion, such as the demand and production of sponge iron.

To cut down reliance on expensive imports of coking coal, the policy has mooted gas-based steel plants and technologies such as electric furnaces to bring down the use of coking coal in blast furnaces.

Public sector firms in the steel sector should aim for economies of scale and will be encouraged to divest their non-core assets through mergers and restructuring, according to the policy.

The policy stated that “Establishment of steel plants along the coast under the aegis of Sagarmala project will be undertaken. Such plants would be based on the idea of importing scarce raw materials and exporting steel products adding that a cluster-based approach will be pursued, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises to ensure optimum land use, easy availability of raw materials and economies of scale.”

Source : The Hindu

voda 23 januari 2017 16:54

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US Steel Industry supports Trump "Buy American, Hire American" initiative

US Rep. Mike Bost along with nearly 20 House Republicans, published a letter to the incoming Trump Administration pledging their assistance in the development of its "Buy American, Hire American" initiative.

Source : Strategic Research Institute

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voda 23 januari 2017 16:54

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Indian banks seek relief to deal with bad loans of Essar and Bhushan Steel - Report

Economic Times cited people with knowledge of the matter as saying that reported that some of India's biggest lenders are asking the central bank to ease debt-management rules as they try to restructure about INR 870 billion (USD 13 billion) owed by Essar Steel Ltd and Bhushan Steel Ltd.

The people said that lenders including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank Ltd are aiming to restructure the debt under a new program the Reserve Bank of India started in June, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The steelmakers don't currently meet the program's requirements because they have not generated enough free cash flow to service at least 50 percent of their liabilities.

It added that the creditors are asking the RBI to reduce the serviceable-debt target used in the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets, or S4A: as the program is known.

Source : Economic Times

voda 23 januari 2017 16:54

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Delhi High Court to hear petitions related to MIP on steel

Reuters reported that Supreme Court on Friday transferred various petitions challenging validity of the Centre’s notification fixing minimum import price for iron and steel products to the Delhi High Court.

A Supreme Court bench transferred the cases from high courts of Punjab and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh to Delhi after both the Centre and the Indian Steel Association sought so. The steel ministry wanted the transfer of petitions to avoid conflicting views by different HCs on the issue.

Aimed at curbing rising imports at predatory prices from countries like China, Japan, Korea and Russia, the government on February 5, last year had imposed MIP in the range of $ 341 to $752 per tonne on 173 steel products for six months.

Source : Reuters

voda 23 januari 2017 16:55

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Japan steel industry fears protectionism from Trump: industry official

Reuters reported that Japan's steel industry is concerned over the risks of a US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and reform of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the incoming Trump administration.

Mr Kosei Shindo chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation told a news conference that "We are worried about the risks of the Trump administration taking protectionism actions or policies.”

Source : Reuters

voda 23 januari 2017 16:58

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Budget Wish List - Steel mills seek removal of import duty and cess on coking coal

PTI reported that some of the Indian steel makers have sought removal of import duty and clean energy cess on coking coal and giving thrust to domestic infrastructure forecasting tepid global demand next year.

Tata Steel India Managing Director Mr TV Narendran told PTI "Steel industry has suffered an increase in input costs due to high coking coal prices this year. Almost all the coking coal requirement is met through imports. Therefore, import duty on coking coal should be removed. Exemption from clean environment cess is also required as there is no substitute reducing agent for steel making unlike power generation.”

Visa Steel Vice-chairman and Managing Director Mr Vishal Agarwal said “The import duty on raw materials such as coking coal should be reduced from 2.5 per cent to nil and the clean environment cess should be made modvatable to improve steel industry competitiveness. Policy measures for infrastructure spending and boosting consumer confidence was required to revive housing & automobile sector to increase domestic steel demand.”

Source : PTI

voda 23 januari 2017 16:58

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Taiwan wants to join Japan in WTO talks with India on steel import restrictions

Business Line reported that Taiwan has requested the World Trade Organization for permission to join Japan’s consultations with India on a complaint against alleged import restrictions on certain steel products. Taiwan, in its submission to the WTO said, it was dissatisfied with India’s response to its queries on the minimum import price on steel.

Taiwan pointed out that it had requested details about the MIP on iron and steel products, and explanations on how it was in compliance with WTO agreements from India, at the meetings of the WTO Council on Trade in Goods. However, there is no satisfactory response from New Delhi.

It said “According to the statistics of 2015, the exportation of the concerned products from the country is to the amount of $14 million. It is believed we have a substantial trade interest in these consultations and a systemic interest in the interpretation of the provisions of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards.”

Meanwhile, an official here said: “We had responded to Taiwan’s queries on the MIP on steel items some time back explaining that it was a temporary measure. However, it says that it is not satisfied and wants to participate in the consultations between Japan and India. We are going to make all efforts to explain our position well at the consultations.”

In December, Japan requested dispute consultations with India at the WTO on ‘certain measures on imports of iron and steel products’. These ‘measures’ include both safeguard duties (levy imposed to stop a surge in imports that are hurting domestic producers) and minimum import price (MIP) on some steel items. Japan sent a formal request for consultations to India early this month spelling out exactly where it had a problem with the country’s import measures on steel.

Source : Business Line

voda 23 januari 2017 16:59

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Steel PSUs ordered shedding of non-core assets

Reuters reported that Indian government wants PSUs under the steel ministry such as SAIL and NMDC to divest their non-core assets and concentrate on their core competencies. These firms will also be asked to devise a policy for future investment concentrating on value-added products, as per the draft national steel policy 2017.

It said that “In the current scenario, steel-making CPSEs need to not only compete with private integrated steel players and cater to the requirements of the MSME steel sector but are also required to be globally competitive. In order to provide economies of scale, CPSEs will be encouraged to increase focus on their core competencies and divest their non-core assets.”

The draft policy said CPSEs have primarily focused and invested more in brown-field expansion of similar steel capacity with limited value addition in terms of high-end product development so far.

Talks on selling non-core assets for SAIL have been going on for quite sometime now. However, barring divesting stake in a cement unit to its joint venture partner, progress has not been significant. It is now on the look out for buyers for its three loss-making arms for a strategic disinvestment.

NMDC is building a 3 mtpa steel plant. Talks were earlier there in the ministry that it should not have any business to be in steel-making.

Meanwhile, the draft policy said that “The ministry will encourage the CPSEs to develop a policy for future investment, so that impetus could be given for development of value-added steel capacity and adoption of latest technologies at par with global best practices.”

It said that CPSEs will also be encouraged to take leadership role in development of the industry, adopt a more inclusive business model, increase their CSR spend, among others.

Source : Reuters

voda 23 januari 2017 17:02

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China NDRC asks provinces to provide list of highly polluting industries

Reuters reported that China has asked local authorities to provide a list of producers of a highly polluting kind of low end steel product, with details of specific measures and a timetable for phasing out its production, as part of China's drive to tackle smog.

The state economic planner, the National Development & Reform Commission requested local authorities to submit the list to relevant central government agencies by Jan. 20, according to a statement on the website of the National Energy Administration.

The government has pledged to halt production of the polluting low-end steel product by the end of June and has sent 12 inspection groups to areas including Hebei, Henan, Guangxi and Heilongjiang to oversee the move, state media Xinhua has reported.

The move is part of the government's efforts to tackle smog as well as to cut excess steel production capacity.

China has launched a campaign to shut down substandard steel production as part of its war on pollution and industrial overcapacity. It is planning to close 100-150 million tonnes of annual steel production capacity over the 2016-2020 period.

Source : Reuters

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voda 23 januari 2017 17:02

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China concerned by US anti dumping measures on carbon, alloy steel CTL plate

Reuters reported that China is "seriously concerned" by US anti dumping measures on Chinese carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate.

China Commerce Ministry said in a statement that it would take "necessary measures" to protect Chinese companies' rights.

Source : Reuters

voda 23 januari 2017 17:03

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Growth for steel decking group despite “volatile” market

Insider Media reported that a Monmouthshire headquartered manufacturer which provides steel decking for some of the largest construction projects in Europe has reported a 10% increase in sales and a GBP 1 million rise in pre-tax profit, despite a "volatile" market.

According to recently filed accounts for Studwelders Holdings, pre tax profit grew to GBP 2.8 million in the year ending 31 March 2016, up from £1.8m in 2014/15. Turnover increased to GBP 33.7 million from GBP 30.6 million the year before.

The average number of staff employed per month also grew to 166 from 142 the year before.

In their report accompanying the results, the directors said that "While this growth is encouraging, the market is still volatile and there is always pressure on margins, so maintaining profit before tax of over GBP 2.5 million is considered testament to the hard work and effort given by staff and the management structures currently in place.

The director said that "The group considers itself well placed in the market sector and is looking forward to more growth in the coming years as the economy slowly gathers pace."

They added that the growth had been achieved at a "broadly comparable rate" across it two trading companies and that the internal infrastructure was in place to support further progress in the current financial year.

Studwelders Holdings is the parent company of a group which includes floor decking installer Studwelders Composite Floor Decks, Composite Metal Flooring and Northern Steel Decking.

It is based at a factory in South Wales and provides draughting, planning and design to installation and project management services.

Source : Insider Media

Bijlage:

voda 23 januari 2017 17:04

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Japan and India WTO talks on safeguard duties on steel likely in February

Reuters reported that Japan, which has filed a case in December to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports India over the past year, is getting more forceful.

A Japanese industry ministry official said that “We need to stop unfair trade actions from spreading explaining a request for WTO dispute consultations with India over steel safeguard duties and a minimum import price for iron and steel products. If consultations fail to resolve the dispute, we may ask adjudication by a WTO panel.”

Such action could come as soon as 60 days in February after its consultation request was filed in December.

A top official at India’s steel ministry said that “We are following the WTO guidelines, though adding that New Delhi is ready to sit across the table for trade talks.”

India imposed duties of up to 20% on some hot-rolled flat steel products in September 2015 and set a floor price in February 2016 for steel product imports to deter countries such as China, Japan and South Korea from undercutting local mills. Japan says India’s actions are inconsistent with WTO rules and contributed to the plunge in its steel exports to India, which dropped to 11th largest on Japan’s buyer list in 2016 through November, down from sixth-largest in 2015.

Source : Reuters

voda 23 januari 2017 17:05

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German sections prices progress but visibility remains low

Sections and beams on the German market have followed the recent general upwards movement in steel prices, but buyers polled by Kallanish all refrain from making predictions about future trends.

“There is one big advantage at the moment: Nobody knows anything. And that’s good for the market,” a managing director of a major beams stockholder tells Kallanish. He concedes that he himself did not foresee the rise in prices during the winter. The insecurity brings a relative stability for both mills and distributors because people don’t buy “… on spec,” he argues.

Demand has been stable for 12 to 24 months, and any undulations happened only because of speculative buying, he explains. In fact, according to official statistics, steel consumption in German structural construction in 2015 and 2016 remained stable at around 2 million tonnes.

Following the increase by some €20-30/tonne ($21.4-32.10/t) induced by the increase in scrap prices, some see the price now heading towards €600/t delivered. Other seasoned observers, such the managing director quoted above, find that too optimistic and suggest €520-530/t.

One smaller stockholder quotes both these limits, saying that “… €530 is possible for large orders,” which suggests that the spread could be wide depending on the volume.
One trader contacted on vacation believes that many buyers have filled their inventory quite well, “… so there may be little demand going forward. Prices might therefore fall also.”

Source: Kallanish.com

voda 23 januari 2017 17:09

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Arvedi upgrades tube welding line at Cremona plant

Italian steelmaker Arvedi Tubi Acciaio has successfully put into operation a high-frequency tube welding line (ERW) upgraded by steel plant and equipment supplier SMS. The line at the company’s Cremona mill can now handle tube of up to 14 inches in diameter, Kallanish learns from an SMS release.

With this plant upgrade, Arvedi is placing the focus of production on high-grade and specialist products, mainly for use in the automotive, petrochemical, thermal and construction industries as well as in mechanical engineering.

Arvedi had commissioned SMS group to upgrade its existing 12 ¾-inch tube welding line to a welding line for up to 14-inch tubes. This was to enable the company to use wider strip coils, improve rolling conditions and secure competitiveness in the long term. The project was completed in four weeks SMS says.

The upgraded equipment allows Arvedi Tubi Acciaio to expand its portfolio in terms of product types and dimensions. The site will now be able to produce tube with an external diameter of up to 14 inches. It will also be capable of producing square tube of up to 300x300mm and rectangular tubes of up to 400x200mm, the plantmaker adds.

Source: Kallanish.com

voda 23 januari 2017 17:10

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Ovako beefs up heat treatment at Smedjebacken

Swedish special steels producer Ovako tells Kallanish that it has decided to invest in increased production capacity at its plant in Smedjebacken. It is installing another heat-treatment furnace which the company says will improve throughput and therefore customer service.

The furnace investment is part of the company’s strategy to broaden operations at the plant, it says in a note. This will reduce lead times in production and delivery of heat-treated steel for Ovako’s customers from weeks to one day or a few days. It will also “considerably” reduce the number of material movements within the group, the steelmaker confirms.

The increased capacity will help to reduce the appearance of bottlenecks in Ovako’s production flow associated with planned maintenance shutdowns, and will facilitate production planning across the year.

As with the furnace installed in Smedjebacken during the second and third quarters of 2016, the new furnace comes from Ovako’s plant in Forsbacka. Project planning has already begun, and the furnace is expected to be operational in April 2017.

The Smedjebacken plant mainly produces alloyed engineering steel. The mill also produces a small quantity of unalloyed engineering steel for which value is created through advanced rolling for specific applications that require steel with very high tolerances.

Source: Kallanish.com

voda 23 januari 2017 17:11

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Coking coal continues decline on China supply: Severstal

Hard coking coal prices should continue to decline in 2017 in response to returning Chinese supply with the relaxation of its 276 days policy, according to Severstal. Steel capacity cuts in China and pollution control initiatives are also seen having improved the outlook for the steel supply-demand balance.

In the fourth quarter of 2016 iron ore prices surged more than 20%. This was because of increasing demand, relatively high steel production and speculative futures trading, the Russian steelmaker says in a report seen by Kallanish. Steel prices in China were driven up 25% by high raw material prices. Russian HRC export prices replicated the dynamics of Chinese export prices.

Severstal increased finished product sales 4% on-quarter in Q4 to 2.08 million tonnes. This was driven by 6%, 29% and 15% rises in hot rolled coil, plate and cold rolled coil shipments respectively to 1.06mt, 189,772t and 281,572t. HRC sales were supported by strong domestic demand, while CRC sales were boosted by ramp-up at CherMK’s refurbished CR mill. Long product sales rose 2% to 355,553t, but galvanized coil sales slumped -21% to 122,532t.

Average sales price of HRC rose 7% on-quarter in Q4 to $423/tonne ex-works, while plate and CRC prices each rose 1% to $512/t and $518/t. Longs prices rose 11% to $391/t.

Q4 semis – including pig iron – shipments surged 38% on-quarter to 260,979t, helped by stronger demand in export markets and higher availability of production capacity.

Severstal expects to begin in 2020 extraction of the Severnaya coking coal mine’s resources, via the adjacent Komsomolskaya mine. Production at Severnaya was halted last February following fatal explosions. The mine will be sealed off.

Severstal’s iron ore pellet sales fell -4% on-quarter in Q4 to 1.55mt and coking coal concentrate shipments plunged -38% to 80,684t.

In full-year 2016 Severstal saw finished products sales fall -3% on-year to 8.08mt. HRC and longs sales rose 2% and 10% respectively to 4.08mt and 1.4mt, but CRC, plate and galv sales fell -28%, -3% and -10% respectively to 963,575t, 691,269t and 560,123t. Semis sales surged 48% to 724,155t. Iron ore pellet deliveries rose 3% to 5.98mt but coking coal concentrate sales fell -50% to 899,542t.

Source: Kallanish.com

voda 23 januari 2017 17:12

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Chinese steel prices trend up despite futures slump

Chinese steel futures tumbled on Friday but spot steel prices remain up week-on-week. The spot market is expected to see very little trade in the next two weeks but futures are being hurt by a credit squeeze, Kallanish notes.

In Shanghai on Friday, 20mm HRB400 rebar prices were up CNY 50/tonne over the week to CNY 3,160-3,210/t ($460-467/t) but traders were withholding inventory and were expecting further increases after the New Year holidays. 5.5x1,500mm Q235B hot rolled coil meanwhile was trading up just CNY 15/t over the week at CNY 3,810-3,850/t.

Very little volume is being traded, and very little volume is even being offered from Shanghai warehouses as stockists have begun to leave for the holidays. They expect their inventory to at least hold its value until they return. Offers are being made ex-works from mills in Jiangsu and also from warehouses in Jiangsu, but logistics costs mean these offers are not attractive. As drivers are also mostly on holiday, the cost of transporting steel from Nanjing to Shanghai has increased by around CNY 30-50/t.

Steel had a much worse day on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Friday than on the physical spot market. The May rebar contract closed down CNY 68/t at CNY 3,194/t ($465/t), while the same contract for HRC closed down CNY 100/t at CNY 3,452/t.

China’s bank lending rate has surged ahead of the new year holiday. Bank withdrawals always surge at this time of year as everybody is buying things to take home to their families.

This year the holiday has coincided with end of month tax payments meaning banks are running fairly dry despite larger than usual liquidity injections from the Bank of China. This is not expected to have a long lasting impact but in the short term there is suddenly less cash available for speculators.

Source: Kallanish.com

voda 23 januari 2017 17:13

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Chinese steel demand grows 0.61% in 2016

December’s crude steel production figure from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in slightly lower than expected, with reported daily output at the lowest level since the summer. Taking into account yield loss, net exports and inventory changes, Chinese end user steel demand in 2016 managed a small 0.61% increase from 2015 to 668.57 million tonnes, Kallanish calculates.

2016 crude steel production was up 1.2% at 808.37mt according to NBS, making it the second highest figure below 2014’s reported 822.7mt.

December’s crude steel production was up 3.2% y-o-y at 67.22mt, but on a daily basis this was just 2.17mt, down -1.9% from November and the lowest level since the 2.16mt reported in July.

Thanks largely to the -4.4% decline in net exports to 95.22mt, apparent finished steel demand in 2016 was up 1.96% y-o-y to 672.16mt. December’s apparent demand was actually down -4.59% from November but was still 9.26% higher than the appallingly low figures recorded at the end of 2015.

The final factor however was the increase in market inventories both over the month of December and year-on-year. Although reported steel mill inventories were down slightly, this was far outweighed by an increase in trader inventories, in part the result of greater confidence in the market this year.

That meant that the amount of steel that actually went to end users was down -7.36% y-o-y and -11.36% month-on-month in December at 52.6mt, bringing the 2016 total to 668.57mt. This was up 0.61% from 2015 but still down -7.2% from peak steel demand of 720.42mt in 2014.

Source: Kallanish.com

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