April, 27 2006
TCIL plans to add 200,000 tonnes of tinning capacity
TATA Steels subsidiary Tinplate Company of India Limited will invest Rs 210 crore in setting up an additional 200,000 tonne tinning capacity at Jamshedpur by 2008. TCIL MD Mr B Raina told reporters that the board has approved the investment proposal and that funding would be through a mixture of debt and internal accruals.
Mr Raina also said the company wished to move up the value chain by providing cost effective, innovative and consumer convenient packaging solutions for edibles.
TCIL's present capacity at Jamshedpur is 180,000 tonnes.
HZL hikes Zinc prices again
Hindustan Zinc Ltd has announced another increase in its selling prices of Zinc by Rs 10,200 a tonne on Wednesday due to continued surge in global prices. HZL has raised the price of the Zinc by Rs 40,800 per tonne or 29% in April 2006.
HZL announced new prices of Rs 182,700 for special high grade and Rs 182,500 for high grade (HG).
LME three-month zinc hit a new record of $3,405 a tonne in Asian market on Wednesday.
POSCO to agree for giving shares to displaced tribals in lieu of land
POSCO seems to be great hurry as it has agreed for any rehabilitation and resettlement package involving preferential shares to the displaced tribals due to its proposed plant in Orissa even before the R&R policy is announced by the government. POSCO India MD Mr Cho Soung-Sik told reporters at the Orissa stall in the India Pavilion at the Hannover Fair "Although the RR guidelines have yet to be announced by the Orissa Government, we will accept the clause of preferential shares to the displaced people, if it is included in these norms."
Mr Soung-Sik also said that POSCO was hoping to get the mining lease for the iron ore from the State Government in the first half of 2007. Mr Soung-Sik said the company was in the process of acquiring land. Mr Soung-Sik said "We had brought $50 million capital last year. This year we will be investing $200 million."
The first phase of the steel plant will go on stream in 2008 with a 4 million tonne capacity. POSCO would invest $3.8 billion in the first phase. The total capacity, to be completed by 2016, will go up to 12 million tonnes.
BEML plans overseas expansion
BEML CMD Mr VRS Natarajan said on the sidelines of a seminar during the Hannover Fair that "We will soon be setting up sales and marketing offices in about six countries and later on assembly plants for mining equipment. We have identified three regions Indonesia and Australia, Latin American countries such as Chile and North and West African nations such as Morrocco, Algeria and Tunisia." Mr Natarajan said the sales offices would be set up in the next one year and the assembly plants would be established within 3 to 5 years. Mr Natarajan said that some of these countries in Latin America have huge mining operations in areas such as iron ore, gold and other minerals. He said the company has already placed its marketing representatives in China, Surinam and Singapore. It is also looking at opening a mining spares warehouse in Singapore.
BEML is in talks with local partners in various countries for the assembly plants he said adding the plants would be set up through the joint venture route.
Bangalore based Bharat Earth Movers Ltd has vital applications in diverse sectors such as coal, mining, steel, cement, power, irrigation, construction, road and railway. It is already Asia's second largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment and exports to 33 countries. It plans to boost exports to Rs 500 crore by 2013-14 from the current about 64 crore, he said. The company is also targeting to increase its total turnover to Rs 5,000 crore during the same period from Rs 2,200 crore in 2005-06.
Adani buys 49% stake in Dholera Port
The Adani Group has picked up a 49% stake in Dholera Port, the JK Group Company that is executing the Rs 3,000 crore Dholera port project. The JK Group will hold the balance 51% as lead promoter, while the Adanis would be the key promoters. Dholera Ports CEO VK Saxena told media that both promoters are negotiating with foreign investors for equity participation and a decision on this is likely within a month. The foreign investor could pick up close to 26%. But how much equity each promoter would dilute is yet to be decided.
The JK Group had bid for this project proposed by the Gujarat government and got a letter of intent from the Gujarat Maritime Board in September 1998. The project has been delayed by at least five years, pending environmental clearances from the Centre as well as state government authorities. However, on account of a delay in environmental clearances and legal battles, the project cost has escalated from Rs 1,250 crore to Rs 3,000 crore as on date.
In the first phase, DPL will be investing close to Rs 900 crore for constructing a jetty each for coal and general handling. In the second phase, the company plans to develop a jetty for handling liquid cargo and in the third phase, a container terminal would be constructed. Gulf of Khambhat does not require much capital dredging as the natural draft available is close to 17 meters which is sufficient to call big vessels. 5,164 acres of land has been reserved for the port project and Union ministry for environment and forests has granted the necessary environmental clearances as per the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 199. Construction of the port would begin after the monsoon and it would take almost 18-20 months once work starts.
Dholera is the second major port venture for Adani Group after Mundra in the Gulf of Kutch, which has emerged as an important destination for coal imports in the region.
Malavika Steel looking for suitors
A news daily has reported that lenders to the Uttar Pradesh based Malavika Steel have asked for expressions of interests from companies like TATA Steel and Mittal Steel to take over the assets of the company citing sources close to the developments. Sources added that the lenders may also look for management contracts with established players.
Malavika Steel, promoted by the Rais of the Usha Group, had been taken over by lenders due to non payment of dues.
TATA officials safe after landing accident in Jamshedpur
It is reported that 6 seater Kingair C90 carrying five top TATA officials from Kolkata to Jamshedpur had a narrow escape as it skidded while landing at rain swamped runway of the Sonari aerodrome yesterday evening. Strong winds, accompanied by hailstorm, lashed the steel city around the time the plane was landing. But the pilot failed to control the aircraft, which skidded off the runway.
The list of passengers includes Mr Anand Sen TATA Steels VP for flat products and Mr BL Raina TCILs MD. It is reported that all of them have been admitted to hospitals with minor injuries and are reported to be under observation.
Sical & Gupta Coal bag Nagpurs rail terminal contract
Chennai based Sisal Logistics along with Gupta Coal have secured the contract from Maharashtra Airport Development Company for building a Rs 80 crore rail terminal at the proposed Multi modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur beating Concor's bid. Sical Logistics' spokesperson said that it would take another 10 days for the finalization of the contract and that MADC will be granting the project on a 66 year lease rental contract. The project will be on a built operate transfer basis.
The rail terminal, to be built over a 24 hectare area, will be servicing rail traffic from the airport, the SEZ and the surrounding region. The terminal will have facilities for operation of rakes, loading and unloading cargo, container yard and storage facilities, ICD facilities like customs clearance and other ancillary services. The project comprises building a railway siding, central station yard, container freight station, and warehouses. The proposed terminal will have a capacity to handle a minimum of 100,000 TEU containers and will take three inbound and three outbound container rakes per day.
IISI forecast 7.3% growth in steel demand in 2006.
The International Iron and Steel Institute forecast that the total use of finished steel products continues to show strong growth in all regions of the world and that world steel demand is predicted to grow 7.3% to 1.087 billion tons in 2006. The largest factor in this growth is the influence of China.
Even with a slowing of Chinese steel demand, it is still predicted at 13% to reach 356 million tonnes 2006 and 12.1% in 2007. India also shows a high steel demand growth with a predicted increase of 8% for 2006 and 2007. In other areas of the world, growth is forecast to be around 4.7% in 2006 followed by reduced growth in 2007 of 2.7%. Predictions suggest that the Japanese market will see growth of 3.3% in apparent steel demand in 2006 with a leveling off in 2007. The whole Asia-Pacific region will register a 3.9% growth in steel use during 2006 and a 2.1% increase in 2007.
In the European Union apparent steel use fell by 4.6% in 2005 reflecting the reduction in steel stocks. However, IISI forecasts an increase of 3.9% in 2006 and 1.5% in 2007. IISI expects economic growth in the USA will lift apparent steel use there by 5.0% in 2006 and by a further 1.7% in 2007.
Growth in the construction and automotive sectors is underpinning an anticipated 3.2% growth in Russias steel use in 2006 with an estimated growth of 1.6% in 2007. Similar growth rates are predicted for the Ukraine.
After a slow down of the market in 2005, the steel market in Brazil is predicted to recover in 2006 with a 9.5% increase in steel use. IISI expects a further increase of 10.9% in 2007. Figures for the whole of Central and South America are similar with forecast increases of 7.6% in 2006 and 8.7% in 2007.
Arcelor secures 4 billion euro loan
Arcelor, through its financial vehicle Arcelor Finance, has signed with ABN AMRO Bank NV, Crit Mutuel-CIC acting through Crit Industriel et Commercial, Dresdner Bank AG London Branch, Fortis Bank NV and Natexis Banques Populaires, each an underwriter, on 30th March 2006 a 4 billion Euro term loan facility with a 3 year maturity. The facility will pay an initial margin of 27.5bp and will be used by Arcelor to maintain its financial flexibility after recent acquisitions.
A restricted syndication of the facility was launched immediately after signature. At yesterday's closing, 12 additional Arcelor's relationship banks have committed to the transaction with a 70% oversubscription. The facility will not be syndicated further.
US Steel industry surpasses Kyoto emission targets
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that for the second consecutive year in a row, the United States steel industry has achieved a new milestone in energy efficiency by reducing its energy intensity per ton of steel shipped by approximately 13.2% since 2002 thus expanding its reduction in energy intensity to 28% since 1990.
Because of the close relationship between energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the industrys aggregate carbon dioxide emissions per ton of steel shipped were reduced by 17%. Compared to the Kyoto Protocols call for an average 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2012, this means the American steel industry has already surpassed the Kyoto target by more than 240%.
Zinc reach all time high of $3405 on LME
London Metal Exchange three month Zinc hit a record of $3,405 metric ton in Asia on Wednesday. Zinc has risen by 77% since the beginning of the year. Zinc continues to be supported by an expected deficit on the back of strong demand growth from China, coupled with a tight concentrate market and falling inventories.
BHPP announced that it will reduce output at its Cannington silver-lead-zinc mine in Australia's Queensland state to shore up ground conditions. Peru's copper-zinc mine Compania Minera Antamina SA said Tuesday its zinc production will be slightly lower in 2006 than it was in 2005. First quarter zinc output at Antamina was down 56% on the same period last year due to lower ore grades.
Meanwhile demand for the metal, used in galvanized steel, is expected to be strong, as the demand for steel continues to be robust. IISI said that it expects total world steel demand to grow 7.3% to 1,087 million metric tons in 2006 and 5.8% to 1,150 million tons in 2007.
Norilsk & Rio Tinto launch new exploration firm RioNor
Russia's largest Nickel miner Norilsk Nickel and Rio Tinto have announced the creation of RioNor Exploration, a joint exploration and development company in Russia. Initial efforts of the company will concentrate on exploration opportunities in the southern regions of the Siberian and Far-Eastern Federal Districts of Russia.
RioNor Exploration is a limited liability company registered in Russia owned 51% by Norilsk Nickel and 49% by Rio Tinto. Its headquarters will be located in Moscow. At the first meeting of the board of directors, Mr. Maxim Finsky of the Norilsk Nickel group was nominated as chairperson of the board of directors and Mr. Bruno Hegner of the Rio Tinto Group was nominated as the general director of RioNor Exploration.
Mr. Maxim Finsky chairperson of RioNor Exploration and deputy general director of Norilsk Nickel said Rio Tinto and Norilsk Nickel have made another step forward in developing our cooperation. Now we have in place the vehicle, which will enable the joint venture to explore the opportunities available in the targeted areas. We are progressing well in setting up necessary business processes and building the organization and exploration team.
Grupo Mexico to keep deliveries amid mine strikes
Grupo Mexico SA, Mexico's largest producer of copper and Zinc, said it will keep delivering metal to customers regardless of a labor dispute that has spread to a third mine Taxco Zinc two days ago. Spokesman Mr. Juan Rebolledo said that employees walked out at the La Caridad mine on March 24 and workers at San Martin followed on April 5.
Grupo Mexico is honoring its contracts by supplying metal from its other mines and by buying copper concentrates from rivals Mr. Rebolledo said.
The strikes follow an explosion at a Grupo Mexico coal mine on February 19 that killed 65 workers.
Zinifex CEO does not see short term solution to Zinc crisis
Mr. Greig Gailey CEO of Zinifex said that the Zinc prices are set to stay at record highs as any response to the current shortage in supply likely to be slow. Mr. Gailey said the cure for Zinc prices was more raw material but it took somewhere between three and five years to develop a new Zinc mine.
Mr. Gailey said that the seeds of the acute shortage in Zinc were sown in the early part of the decade. He said Nobody made any money, companies like Pasminco failed, and as a result of that nobody did any exploration, nobody was interested in developing Zinc mines and what we're seeing today is the fruits of that."
He told media that "We have a very large deposit in Queensland called Dugald River, which is about 50 million tonnes. We're currently in the phase of doing a pre-feasibility study but even if we fast track that project through, it would not be in the market before 2010 or 2011."
Zinifex was formed out of the remnants of Pasminco.
IFC may part fund IUD for Alchevsk & DMKD modernization
It is reported in a local daily that the International Finance Corporation may allocate a $100 million loan to the Industrial Union of Donbass for upgrades, improving competitiveness and environmental programs. The IFC will make its decision on the loan on June 8 2006. The project is expected to cost $1.1 billion and IUD also plans to raise a syndicated loan of $250 million to fund the project.
The project will be implemented at the IUD's Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works, Alchevsk Coke Chemical Plant and Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Integrated Works.
IUD key assets also include Dunaferr in Hungary and Huta Stali Czestochowa in Poland. IUD companies in Ukraine and Hungary produced 9.2 million tonnes of steel in 2005. The corporation posted gross revenue of about $3.5 billion. IUD signed a credit agreement with a consortium of Polish banks on April 20 to raise $275 million, which will be used to develop and upgrade Huta Stali Czestochowa and to acquire a second continuous steel casting machine for the Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works.
Brazilian Gerdau eying investment opportunities in China
Brazilian group Gerdaus deputy chairman Mr Ruy Lopes said in Sao Paulo that company is looking at investment opportunities in China as it is one of the big players in the world steel market due to currently dynamic economy and is drawing the attention of large groups working in the sector. Mr Lopes did not say, however, which projects Gerdau was looking at in China, but said that internationalization was part of the companys growth plans.
Gerdau has been exporting steel products to the Chinese market since 2001 through Aminas, one of the groups subsidiaries in Brazil.
In the last few years one of Gerdaus strategies has been to buy up foreign steel works to meet demand in their respective countries. Currently the Gerdau group is the 13th largest in the sector in the world, with factories in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, United States, Spain and Uruguay. The Brazilian groups production capacity is 18.8 million tons of steel per year. Last year the Gerdau group posted net profit of $1.534 billion over group turnover of $12.06 billion.
Shipping rates at 9 week low
The cost of shipping commodities such as coal and iron ore fell to a nine week low as bookings dwindled after a rush of shipments arranged before the Easter holidays. The Baltic Dry Index was at 2397 its lowest level in nine weeks. The index has fallen more than 12% in the past two months as the delayed talks deter ship bookings.
Freight rates for Capesizes between Western Australia to China fell by 18 cents or 1.9 percent to $9.25 a metric ton according to the Baltic Exchange. On the Brazil to China route, shipping costs for Capesizes fell by 1.6% to $21.51 a ton. Freight rates for the vessels transporting coal to the Netherlands from South Africa's Richards Bay were down by 2.1% at $11.55 a ton according to the Baltic Exchange.
Bookings have been subdued while Chinese steelmakers, the world's largest consumers of iron ore, wrangle over the price of iron ore contracts for 2006 with suppliers Rio Tinto, BHPB and CVRD.
AK Steel files lawsuit against union & their consultant
AK Steel Corp has filed a defamation lawsuit on Tuesday against its locked out union Armco Employees Independent Federation and their NY based consultant Mr Michael Locker.
The suit alleges that Mr Locker, on behalf of the AEIF, has contacted various AK Steel shareholders, industry analysts and others to make false and disparaging statements about AK Steel's operating and financial performance. The suit alleges that Locker's false statements include statements that few or no coils are being shipped from the company's Middletown Works and that serious injuries to employees are rampant. The lawsuit follows a written warning the company issued to Locker Monday.
AEIF represents hourly employees who have been locked out of the plant since March 1. The company locked out the 2,400 workers Feb. 28 when their labor contract expired without a new deal in place.
Macarthur Coal Q3 sales up by 3.6%
Australian miner Macarthur Coal Ltd said that its third quarter coal sales rose and it remains on track to exceed 4.5 million tons in sales over the year to June. It announced that March quarter production increased by 3.6% to 1.242 million tons of coal compared to the previous corresponding quarter while year to March production slipped 2.6% to 3.768 million tons.
The miner said during the March quarter, production of a coking coal product commenced at its Moorvale Mine and negotiations are progressing for deliveries of coking coal trial cargoes to potential customers. It said thermal coal production at Moorvale increased to approximately 40% of total production during the quarter as a result of producing a coking coal product.
Macarthur Coal expected its average price for low volatile PCI coal to fall by approximately 30%.
Alleghenys Q1 net up by 68%
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated has reported net income for the first quarter 2006 of $102.5 million on sales of $1.04 billion. Income before tax for the first quarter 2006 was $160.2 million as against net income of $61 million on sales of $879.6 million in Q1 of 2005. Sales grew by 18% YOY and 16% higher than Q4 of 2005. Net income increased by 68% YOY.
Mr L Patrick Hassey Chairman, President and CEO said "ATI is off to an outstanding start in 2006, demonstrating strong after-tax profitable growth results and future earnings power. Our key growth markets, namely aerospace and defense, chemical process industry, oil and gas, electrical energy, and medical, remained strong, reaching 62% of ATI's first quarter 2006 sales. Aerospace and defense was the largest of our markets at 31% of first quarter 2006 sales.
Northern Vietnam reported to have large deposits of iron ore
It is reported that Vietnam's Northern mountainous region is estimated to have total reserves of 224 million tons of metal minerals, mainly iron ores. Iron ores account for 213 million tons, Titanium 4.8 million tons, Manganese 3. 2 million tons, Lead, Zinc, Copper and Tin the remainders.
Vietnams National Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy said that most of the mines are located in the seven provinces of Lao Cai, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Bac Can. Vietnam has yet to tap the region's mineral potential due to financial and technological issues, the institute said.
The country exploited around 400,000 tons of iron ores in the region each year in the 1995-2003 periods. The annual iron ore exploiting capacity has increased to some 1 million tons in recent years.
Romanian Artrom Slatina posts best ever profits in 2005.
Seamless tube maker Artrom Slatina posted net profit of $7 million in 2005, highest in the history of company, by producing 85,000 tonnes of pipes an increase of 10% over 2004 Exports represent over 80% of the company's turnover, out of which 60% go to the European Union and 20% to the US and Canada.
Resita Steel and Iron Works acquired by TMK group, is the main supplier of round billets to Artrom and CSR is being financed by TMK & Artrom. Artrom Slatina plans to increase the production by 12% in 2006 over 2005. It also intends to increase its production capacity so that to absorb 250,000 tonnes per year of CSR made billets starting in 2007.
Established in 1982 and Slatina based Artrom is part of Russian pipe group TMK, second largest pipe company in the world, and produces mechanical pipes for special purposes including pipes for cars and hydraulic cylinders. Artrom will change its name into TMK Artrom soon.
Ramunia & Sam Knag form a pipe JV
Malaysias Ramunia Holdings Bhd is reported to be setting up a JV with South Koreas Sam Kang Industries Co Ltd to start a steel tubular production plant in Teluk Ramunia Johor.
Details of the joint venture would be finalized by end October 2006 and the plant is expected to start operations by early 2007. The initial cost of the plant is $10 million and it will have maximum production capacity of 30,000 tonnes of rolled tubular steel per annum.
Ramunia MD Mr Arshad Ahmad said that the main target clients for the products were Petronas and its production sharing partners as well as others in Southeast Asia.
IPSCO continues strong performance in Q1
IPSCO Inc announced net income of $150.7 million for the first quarter of 2006 as compared to $154.8 million for Q1 of 2005 and $170.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Sales for the quarter were a record $902.9 million, an increase of 17.8% or $136.2 million over the same quarter last year and 5.9% or $50.7 million over the prior quarter. Total shipments for the quarter were 1.005 million tons a new quarterly record for IPSCO and an increase of 150,000 tons compared to last year and 52,000 tons higher than the prior quarter.
Both steel mill product and tubular shipments set new quarterly records. Steel mill product shipments of 658,000 tons increased 6.5% over last year and 7.1% over the prior quarter while tubular shipments of 347,000 tons increased 46.0% over the prior year, primarily due to greater large diameter shipments. Tubular shipments were 2.4% greater than the prior quarter.
IPSCO's composite first quarter product price of $898 per ton was also a new quarterly record and was up $2 per ton from a year ago and $4 per ton higher than the prior quarter.
Mr David Sutherland President and CEO said "IPSCO continues to generate industry leading results based on the sustained strength in its core markets for plate and energy sector products, operating consistently at a high rate of profitability. Over the past two years IPSCO's operating income has averaged $246 per ton, a mark which ranks at the top of our industry."
Moody's assigns A1 to BHP Billiton EMTN
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a A1 long term rating to BHP Billiton Finance Ltd's benchmark guaranteed senior unsecured notes. The notes are being issued under BHP Billiton's existing Euro MTN program which is rated A1 by Moody's.
Net proceeds of this benchmark issue will be used to refinance WMC Resources' acquisition finance. The issue, with a 5 year maturity, will rank pari passu with BHP Billiton's existing senior unsecured debt.
BHP Billiton is the world's largest diversified natural resources company. It has operations in petroleum, iron ore, metallurgical coal and manganese, alumina and aluminum, energy coal and base metals, nickel materials and diamonds.
Foundation Coals Q1 net up by 66%
Foundation Coal Holdings Inc has reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. First quarter coal sales revenues totaled $387.6 million, a 29% increase over the first quarter of 2005, and net income for the quarter was $31.3 million, a 66% increase over the same quarter a year ago.
Foundation Coal Holdings Inc, through its affiliates, is a major US coal producer with 13 coal mines and related facilities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois and Wyoming. Through its subsidiaries Foundation Coal employs approximately 3,000 people and produces approximately 70 million tons annually.
GVM Metals acquires coal deposits in South Africa
South African mineral processing and coal mining company GVM Metals Limited announced that negotiations have now been completed to acquire a substantial open cut coal deposit in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The consideration for the acquisition of a 74% interest in the permits will be satisfied by the issue of 20,812,500 GVM Metals Ltd shares. The acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including the consent of the Minister of Mines to the transfer and Shareholder approval.
The Prospecting Right acquired consists of the adjacent farms Semple, Over Vlatke, Bergen Op Zoom and Voorspoed covering an area of 8,662 Hectare. The northern boundaries of the farms are formed by the Limpopo River and are 50 kilometers east of Messina. The project lies 40 to 50 kilometers north of Rio Tinto's Chapudi Coal Project. The project is some 40 kilometers west of the main Zimbabwe to South Africa railway line which connects to Richards Bay and the Mozambique port of Maputo.
A Competent Persons Report has been prepared and is based largely on the Feasibility Study on Overlakte completed in 1983 by Southern Sphere. It has defined an inferred resource of 352 million tonnes with a life of mine strip ratio of less than 5:1. It is said that the coal seams extend into the adjoining farms and it is believed that the resource will be substantially increased in time.
North American Galvanizing & Coatings sales up by 66% in Q1
North American Galvanizing & Coatings Inc reported quarterly net income of $982,000 for the first quarter of 2006 as compared to net income of $97,000 for the first quarter of 2005. Sales for the period were $15.4 million as compared to $9.2 million for the prior year, a 66% increase.
Q1 volumes are 41% higher than the first quarter of 2005 and 18% higher than the 4th quarter of 2005. Average selling prices for galvanizing and related coating services were 18% higher in Q1 of 2006 than the prior year first quarter and 9% higher than 4th quarter 2005.
Mr Ronald J Evans president and CEO said "We are very pleased with the operational, commercial, and financial results of the first quarter which all set records for NGA. I commend our employees for their efforts and performance which together with the strengthening economy drove this quarter's results."
North American Galvanizing is a leading provider of hot-dip galvanizing and coatings for corrosion protection of fabricated steel products. The Company conducts its galvanizing and coating business through a network of plants located in Canton, Ohio; Denver, Hurst, Houston, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis and the Tulsa area.
China to put brakes on industries
The Chinese Government has announced plans to curb new real estate projects and other overheated sectors by cutting credit in an effort to cool an economy that boomed at 10.2% in the first quarter. "First we must strengthen adjustments in fixed asset investments and tighten the throttle on land and credit," the National Development and Reform Commission said in a policy paper on its Web site.
In the first quarter, fixed asset investments rose by 27.7% over the same period last year, remaining the main driver of economic growth along with foreign trade.
From January through March this year, property developers invested 279.3 billion yuan ($34.8 billion) in construction projects, up 20 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on the weekend. About 50% of all real estate investments came from loans.
With property construction in overdrive, the NDRC's policy paper also warned of dangerous signs of overcapacity and overproduction in some industries such as steel, cement, glass and other building materials. The NDRC has issued guidelines to accelerate structural adjustment or consolidation in the coal, cement, aluminum, ferroalloy, and coke industries. It said it will shortly issue similar guidelines for other sectors.
BHPB appoints Mr Ian Ashby to executive committee
BHP Billiton announced today the appointment of Mr Ian Ashby, President and CEO of Western Australian Iron Ore to the BHP Billiton Executive Committee. This appointment reflects the increasing importance of Western Australian Iron Ore in the BHP Billiton portfolio by separating the management of our extensive production and development activities in Western Australia from iron ore development activities in other regions. Mr Ian will continue to be based in Perth and will report to Mr Chris Lynch, Group President of Carbon Steel Materials.
Mr Ian, a mining engineer from Melbourne University, joined the group in 1987 and was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer for Western Australian Iron Ore in December 2004.
BNSF posts Q1 gains
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp announced that that the first quarter profit gained as its trains carried more volume at higher prices, offsetting a spike in fuel costs. Burlington Northern said demand for rail service was very strong across its business, with double digit gains in revenue from carrying coal, consumer goods, and industrial and agricultural products.
Mr Matthew Rose CEO of BNSF, second in the US only to Union Pacific Corp, said that his company is trying to make up for years of inadequate spending on track and locomotives. BNSF is increasing capacity along its main Los Angeles-Chicago line to handle the growth of imports from Asia, much of which must be shipped from West Coast ports to the rest of the country.
Burlington Northern operates over 32,000 miles of track in much of the United States and western Canada.
Severstal to increase shipments for construction of NEGP
Severstal plans to triple shipments of steel products for construction of the North European Gas Pipeline. Mr Dmitry Goroshkov sales director said that NEGP will enable Severstal to fully utilize the mill-5000 at its plant near St Petersburg, and have guaranteed orders until 2010.
In addition, this year Severstal plans to begin making K60 steel with thickness of 25.8 mm for the United Metallurgical Company's Vyksa Metallurgical Plant. It is also working on setting up production of K60 steel with thickness of 21.6 mm and length of 18 meters for the Severstal Group's Izhora Pipe Plant, which plans to bid in a tender to supply pipes for NEGP. ITZ, which is due to start production in the first half of 2006, will be able to produce 450,000 tonnes of single seam welded pipes with diameter of 610 mm to 1420 mm, wall thickness of up to 40 mm and lengths of up to 18.3 meters, with a three layer polymer coating and the possibility of applying an internal smooth coating.
Transneft to name ESPO oil pipeline construction contractor
Mr Semyon Vainshtok President of Russian Transneft said that it is about to finalize the tender for the constructor of the first stage of the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean oil pipeline. Construction is to be launched in Tayshet within the next 3 to 4 days.
The Chinese partner is financing the feasibility study of the pipeline's Chinese branch. Mr Vainshtok noted that an agreement had been reached that the Republic of China would also cover future costs including those for laying the pipes. However, the Chinese party will not have any priority rights he said.
US Steel names Mr Fedorenko to head Granite City plant
US Steel has appointed Mr Michael Fedorenko as GM of Granite City Works. Effective May 1, Mr Fedorenko will succeed Merle Stein, who recently was named US Steel's GM of Fairfield Works in Alabama.
Mr John Surma Chairman & CEO said "Mike recently completed a challenging assignment as general director of US Steel Serbia during which he oversaw the rebuild and restart of the No 1 blast furnace and the doubling of US Steel Serbia's steelmaking capability."
Mr Fedorenkobegan his career with Pittsburgh based US Steel after graduating from college in 1976. Following a series of promotions within the firm in the United States, in March 2005 he was appointed to his most recent position as vice president and general director of US Steel Serbia and affiliated companies.
