By CRU Analysts Kevin Bai and Zhenzhen Jiang, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Policy aimed at reducing pollution in Tangshan, Hebei province, has started to restrict hot metal supply and lift steel prices in China. This Insight summarizes the policy, assesses the immediate impact of the measures and explores potential implications on China’s crude […]
Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) has delayed a scheduled shutdown of its blast furnace until the second half of 2021, a company spokeswoman said. The Brazilian steelmaker had originally planned to undertake the shutdown, necessary to implement “processes improvement,” in the second quarter of this year. “The initial date was postponed mainly due to the […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith and Research Manager Paul Butterworth CRU analyzes hydrogen-steelmaking costs in the EU and explains why CO2 prices of more than $200/t-CO2 are required to incentivize an EU industry shift to these technologies. Climate Goals vs. Economics The 2050 goal for the EU economy is to be climate-neutral, meaning that […]
By CRU China CEO John Johnson and CRU Senior Consultant Ashley Wang from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor On Sept. 22, in a statement to the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced to world leaders that China “aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060”. The part of this statement concerning CO2 was brief […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Raw Materials and Steel Costs CRU price and cost forecasts suggest that the steel sector generally will return close to steady-state, or “through-cycle,” levels of profitability over the five-year forecast period. However, as our analysis highlights, steady-state profitability of individual steel mills has varied widely in […]
China’s July crude steel output jumped 1.9 percent from June and 9.1 percent from a year ago to 93.36 million metric tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Steel demand rallied after declining during the pandemic-induced shutdowns and is now benefiting from Chinese stimulus measures that include infrastructure building and housing construction. Average daily […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The following is excerpted from CRU’s weekly report on steel supply disruptions and restarts. Several weeks after national lockdowns were eased, activity in steel-consuming sectors continues to resume and mills are restarting or ramping up production in some regions. Outside China, the spread of […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Strength in China has continued. Over recent days there has been a renewed surge upwards in Chinese export prices, especially for HR coil, which rose by a total of $17/t in just three trading days this week (see chart 1). This comes at […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook Iron ore prices fell by $2 /dmt in the past week as port stocks continued to rise on high arrivals from Australia, while steel production in China declined slightly. On Tuesday, July 21, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $111.0 […]
By CRU Analysts Irina Melkonyan and Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Russia is among the biggest steel exporters in the world, delivering to a wide range of destinations. However, steel demand in all regions diminished as the world was hit by Covid-19 and most steel producers globally have struggled. Unlike steelmakers […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Ryan Smith and Andrew Gadd, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Oil markets have had a torrid 2020, with the combination of demand losses due to Covid-19 and the breakdown of coordination between major producing countries resulting in plummeting prices. In this Insight, we assess how this oil price shock influences […]
The COVID-19 pandemic took a serious toll on global steel output in May everywhere but in China. The World Steel Association reports that world steel production declined by 8.7 percent last month, compared with May 2019, to an estimated 148.8 million metric tons. Steel production in China actually increased by 4.2 percent in May to […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The suspension of iron ore production at Vale’s Itabira Complex resulted in prices surging after the weekend. On Tuesday, June 9, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $105.0 /dmt, up $4.5 /dmt w/w. In China, demand has remained robust as […]
China’s steel exports in May decline by 23.3 percent compared with May 2019 to about 4.4 million tons. Global demand for Chinese steel products remains weak as economic activity around the world is hampered by the coronavirus. “Customers in each country are losing their willingness to buy,” said a Steel Market Update source in the […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The spread of Covid-19 has resulted in an annualized loss of 284 Mt of steel capacity outside China. Slowly easing lockdown measures in most regions have allowed for the resumption of some industrial activities and steel producers in some countries are restarting their operations, […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have continued to rise with HR coil assessed at $510 /s.ton, a w/w gain of $23 /s.ton. While prices are higher, overall volume of transactions has been limited. This is due not only to low demand and plentiful […]
By CRU Analysts Alexander Ordosch and Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor: The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a rapid fall in market activity and steel demand, which has resulted in steelmakers across the globe responding quickly by lowering steel production. Steelmakers have two options to reduce steel output in response to lower […]
By CRU Analyst Nikki Ni, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Over the past month, Chinese steel demand has accelerated, resulting in lower inventories while output remained at a high level. The ongoing demand recovery has improved the Steel PMI to 45.9 in April, up by 3.7pp m/m. Despite being below the 50-mark, the consecutive m/m improvement […]
A significant development in Sweden may allow a cleaner, more environmentally friendly way to heat steel in the future. Steelmaker Ovako and its partner Linde Gas AB have successfully completed a full-scale trial using hydrogen to heat steel before rolling. In trials at its Hofors rolling mill, the company said it proved that the heating […]
Liberty Steel Group has shifted its executive leadership in order to better manage the impact of COVID-19. The group’s board of directors, based in London, will be chaired by Sanjeev Gupta who also serves as CEO. International operations in the U.S. and Australia will be overseen by Regional President Dak Patel who will continue in […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Monitor As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the world, its effects on the steel industry are growing. In this weekly report, we will be closely monitoring developments in the steel industry with a focus on disrupted hot metal production and capacity utilization and these will feed into […]
British Steel is now owned by China’s Jingye Group and ready to begin a “new illustrious chapter” in the history of British steelmaking. The completed sale includes the steelworks at Scunthorpe, UK mills in Teesside and Skinningrove, FN Steel in the Netherlands and TSP Engineering. Jingye is continuing separate negotiations to acquire British Steel’s French […]
Gauging how COVID-19 will impact global commerce, specifically the world’s steel industry, is almost as difficult to predict as the spread of the virus itself. CRU analysts will tackle the subject in a new webinar this week. As CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg reports, the news is not all bad. For one, the pace of […]
Despite the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Chinese workforce and the nation’s commerce, the China Iron and Steel Association forecasts that steel production will decrease by only 2.7 percent in the first quarter. Crude steel production has actually increased by around 3 percent in February. Analysts warn that China’s steel production is […]
International OCTG producer Tenaris had net sales of $7.3 billion in 2019, a 5 percent decrease from 2018 that reflected lower drilling activity in Canada and the U.S. and lower sales in the Middle East and Africa. Net income fell 16 percent to $731 million. Fourth-quarter North American tubular sales increased 1 percent to $779 million […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth and Analyst Zhenzhen Jiang, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The loss of steel demand from Covid-19 has pushed Chinese steelmakers to either reduce utilization or idle capacity but, as steel stocks at mills reach critical levels, they will increasingly seek to offload in the export market. Decisions by […]
Writing with CRU’s Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen are Principal Consultant for Aluminum Wan Ling, Senior Analyst Richard Lu, Analyst Ruilin Wang and China office CEO John Johnson. Last week, CRU’s China offices in Shanghai and Beijing returned to work following the Chinese New Year holiday, which was extended due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19). This virus has had a heavy […]
China has begun a mass return to work following the Chinese New Year holiday that was extended due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (recently given the official name Covid-19). Labor and logistical constraints have hit the steel industry across the whole value chain from the supply of raw materials through to steel demand […]
The frightening coronavirus outbreak in China has disrupted manufacturing and construction, which may lead to lower steel prices. Commerce at China’s many ports has also been impacted to varying degrees, reports a Steel Market Update source in Beijing. At some Chinese ports, ships are able to berth and unberth as normal. In other locations, loading […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]