Steel ministry seeks export duty rollback on some products

PTI reported that union steel ministry has asked the government to consider exemption of export duty on certain products, like cold rolled coils, for which raw materials have been imported under the advance licensing scheme.

A senior steel ministry official said that "Despite export duties announced on various steel products, it would be prudent for the government to consider allowing duty free export of CR coils, galvanized steel, tubes and pipes for which HR coils have been imported under the advance licensing scheme."

The official argued that this is imperative to enable the producers achieve economies of scale especially those who manufacture high end products. He said that "Therefore we have asked the government to take this matter into consideration and ask the finance ministry to notify the same while issuing notification on the export duties."

The official further added that the import arrangement under the advance licensing scheme is likely to be made effective from July 1st 2009. He pointed out that with the finance ministry levying up to 15% export duty on various steel products this week, steel producers found it uneconomical to import HR coil under advance licensing scheme, add value to it and export the value added products after paying taxes.

TATA Steel may join race for stake in PT Krakatau

Antara reported that TATA Steel may enter the race to acquire a stake in Indonesian steel major PT Krakatau, joining ArcelorMittal and BlueScope.

The report cited Mr Ansari Bukhari Indonesian industry ministry's director general for metal, machinery, textile and various other industries as saying that TATA Steel has sent a letter to the ministry inquiring how it could take part in the privatization.

He added that "Mr Indronil Sengupta CEO of TATA Steel plans to meet with minister of industry Mr Fahmi Idris sometime on May 5th or May 6th 2008. He has some questions on the government's plan to privatize Krakatau Steel."

Earlier, Mr Ansari said that Australian based BlueScope Steel had asked to meet with the minister on May 8th or May 9th 2008 to discuss the privatization.

Mr Ansari said that "With so much interest in Krakatau Steel, we will make the choice based on the investors' ability to provide up to date technologies and financial support. And the most important thing is the investments must be able to provide jobs and skills for Indonesians. So Krakatau Steel should be certain it could gain a capacity increase to at least 5 million tonnes of steel a year by the time we're finished with the dealings."

Krakatau Steel is Indonesia's largest steel maker with assets worth IDR 11 trillion.

SAIL pulls out of ISA

PTI reported that, in its bid to distance itself from the controversy over price hike, Steel Authority of India Limited has pulled out from the Indian Steel Alliance stating that it has outlived its utility."

A SAIL spokesman said that "We felt that ISA needed to do more on promoting steel use and sharing of data between the utilities, a function which is being now performed efficiently by INSDAG."

ISA has been spearheading the campaign against government's move to set up a regulator in the steel sector to monitor prices and imposing export duty on steel. ISA had been instrumental in launching a sustained campaign against the move to disincentivise steel exports as well as demanding export levy on iron ore.

TATA Steel had also withdrawn from the alliance some time back. The

SIEMA urges government to ban export or iron ore

It is reported that Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association has urged the centre to ban export of iron ore immediately or at least impose a steep export duty on iron ore.

In a letter to union finance minister Mr P Chidambaram, the SIEMA thanked him for exempting from import duty various steel products and imposing export duty on some steel items, which would stabilize the local market prices of steel.

However, the SIEMA expressed disappointment over the minister not making any announcement on export of iron ore, the basic raw material for manufacture of pig iron and steel.

Mr CR Shanmughasundaram president of SIEMA said that "To reduce pig iron prices, iron ore prices should be reduced considerably, for which the government should ban its export or at least impose steep export duty on iron ore." He added that further, excess mining and export of iron ore would cause rapid depletion of natural resources and quality iron ore, erosion in forest cover and green belt areas thereby causing pollution problems.

SAIL bags national award for Excellence in Cost Management

Steel Authority of India Limited announced that it has won the National Award for Excellence in Cost Management 2007 of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountant of India in the category public sector manufacturing organization with turnover more than INR 1000 crore.

Mr Soiles Bhattacharya director finance of SAIL received the prestigious award from Mr Prem Chand Gupta union minister for company affairs at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan on May 1st 008.

SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant was also adjudged as the runner up by ICWAI for the award in the category of public sector manufacturing unit with turnover more than INR 1000 crore.

The jury for the award, headed by former chief justice of the Supreme Court Mr JS Verma evaluated companies based on their continuous efforts towards adoption of new techniques, evolving innovative ideas and restructuring operations for better cost management. The criteria for selection of the winner included application of cost management techniques, various efficiency parameters, cost and financial information, capacity utilization, labor productivity, assets and liabilities of the company, power and fuel consumption, working capital management, ratio analysis and cost reduction measures.

The award vindicates the success of SAIL's shift in focus from the concept of cost reduction to total cost management where all cost management initiatives form a part of the company's strategic planning itself and are monitored regularly.

This year's award is a testimony to the untiring efforts made by the SAIL collective over a period of time to set new standards of excellence in the field of cost management. Simultaneously, SAIL saved significantly with the success of several other initiatives such as performance-based procurement, consolidating business transactions through e-commerce, competence enhancement through HRD initiatives, enhanced automation, manpower rationalization and waste management.

With this, ICWAI has honored SAIL for the third time for its cost management efforts since the institution of the award in 2003. SAIL bagged the winner's trophy for excellence in cost reduction in 2003 and was adjudged runner up in 2004.

Indian wire industry hit badly by steel price rise – Report

SNS reported that Indian steel wire industry has suffered a loss to the tune of INR 100 crore over the past 4 months due to the increase in steel wire rod prices.

Mr Tirthankar Banerjee secretary of Steel Wire Manufacturers Association of India said that these circumstances had made it difficult for the steel wire industry to survive.

He pointed out that infrastructural development projects of India would be hampered as the steel wire industry mainly supplies their products to the railways, electricity boards, construction sector and automobile industry.

Mr Banerjee said that "Previous contracts, entered into on the basis of raw material prices prevailing then, would have to be stopped immediately."

He added that import of HC wire rod from China, which is priced lower than the domestic products, is not viable due to a total 20% duty imposed on it.

India may ban futures trade in steel – Report

It is reported that the Indian government is contemplating a total ban on futures trading in iron and steel, in addition to a host of tax incentives to bring down the price of steel in India.

Sources said the finance ministry representative had observed during the latest inter ministerial meeting on inflation last week that steel contributed to 25% of the recent inflation in India.

Rebar market scenario in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's steel products market has been volatile for the last few months, as the prices continued to go up abnormally with prices of rebars doubling in the last 6 months.

The 40 grade MS rod is now selling at between BDT 65,000 and BDT 66,800 per tonne as against BDT 40,000 six months ago, while the 60 grade MS rod is now selling at BDT 72,000 per tonne as against its previous rate of BDT 52,000.

In the wake of the steep rise in the prices of steel products, the major elements of construction works, the government has taken a move to regulate the market. As part of the government efforts, Army led Joint Forces launched drives at different steel mills and ship scrap breaking depots and finally fixed the prices of MS rods. But the government steps did not work.

Later, the commerce ministry convened a meeting of the stakeholders to discuss the issue and formed a high powered committee to find out the reasons why the prices of steel products kept rising. The committee is still working and kept holding meetings with different stakeholders, including ship scrap breakers, scrap importers and steel and re rolling millers.

The commerce ministry meeting also took a decision to consider the opening up of import of MS rods through slashing down the existing high import duty.

Local traders said that Bangladeshi producers can always provide competitive rates because of cheaper gas and labor in the country. Mr Abul Quasem Majumder VP of Steel Mill Owners' Association said that "But Indian producers do not have these advantages."

Mr Majumder said that now they have to import melting scrap at USD 650 per tonne, which was just below USD 350 barely six months back. Similarly, short supply of ship scrap, which is also used to produce MS rods, is another major reason behind the recent price hike. Only a limited number of traders are allowed to import ship scrap and they have had a monopoly on the market. He added that "This sort of monopoly should go and ship scrap import should be opened up for steel millers too."

Indian Hume Pipe bags water project order in AP

Projects Today reported that Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited has been awarded the contract for investigation, survey, design and execution of Anantapur water supply improvement scheme in Andhra Pradesh. Work on the project commenced recently.

The water supply project will be developed with Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir as the source under urban infrastructure development scheme for small & medium towns scheme.

The project is estimated to cost INR 64.11 crore.

Kamdhenu Ispat enters into UPVC windows and section segment

New Delhi based Kamdhenu Ispat Limited has announced that it is venturing into a new segment, UPVC windows and section under its franchisee business model.

The franchisee units will manufacture the UPVC windows and section, under the norms and specifications of the company and market the same under the trade name Kamdhenu.

Kamdhenu Ispat Limited is engaged in manufacturing, marketing, and servicing steel products primarily in India. It also generates royalty income from trade mark related rights, including trade marks, trade names, copyright, and logo in relation thereto, pertaining to cement, POP, water proofing compounds and wall putty business to third party companies.

Rathi Udyog's Ghaziabad unit project underway

Rathi Udyog Limited has informed BSE that the modernization of its Ghaziabad unit estimated at a total cost of INR 34.10 crore is underway and would be completed by March 2009 as scheduled.

It said that State Bank of India has sanctioned a term loan of INR 21.50 crore for the meeting the requirements.

It said the preferential issue of convertible warrants approved by the members in the extraordinary general meeting held on February 5th 2008 for issuing 1,06,91,889 convertible warrants at INR 51 per warrant with a premium of INR 41 per warrant on preferential basis to promoters or PAC and strategic investors has been withdrawn.

JSPL bags Srishti Green Cube Award 2007

BS reported that Jindal Steel & Power Limited Raigarh has won the Srishti Green Cube Award 2007 for Good Green Governance for achievements in the field of environment management.

Mr Suranjan Sarkar manager of Environment Management Department of JSPL received the award from Ms Sheela Dikshit chief minister of Delhi at a function in New Delhi recently.

Many industrial houses from steel, cement, power sectors were in the race for the prestigious award this year.

India seeks more comforts from Iran in IPI project

It is reported that India has sought more comforts from Iran for safe passage of natural gas through Pakistan before a pact on the USD 7.4 billion tri nation pipeline can be signed.

Iranian President Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 6 hour visit to New Delhi last week broke India's 8 month non participation in IPI talks and there is likelihood of swift movements to conclude negotiations.

Mr Murli Deora union petroleum minister said that "We had a very good meeting. The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh conveyed India's keenness to join the project. Oil ministers of the three nations may meet soon to resolve all outstanding issues. It may happen within the 45 day timeframe suggested by Mr Ahmadinejad."

India wants Iran to handover custody of gas at the India Pakistan border and not at Iran Pakistan border as had been suggested by Tehran, to cut transit risk through Pakistan. It also opposed price revision clause that Iran is seeking to insert in the gas sales agreement. Besides, India pressed Iran to dedicate a particular gas field like South Pars for Iran Pakistan India pipeline and sought third party certification of its reserves. It sought to know alternate supply sources in event of depletion of reserves.

It may be noted that India has been boycotting IPI pipeline talks since August 2007 over transit fee demanded by Pakistan for passage of gas through that country. Differences between the 2 nations were narrowed at meeting of oil ministers of India and Pakistan in Islamabad last week but there is no agreement as yet.

Punjab CM writes to PM to ban forward trading in steel

It was reported last week that Mr Parkash Singh Badal chief minister of Punjab has sought personal intervention of Dr Manmohan Singh prime minister of India to ban forward trading in steel besides scraping import duty on the import of scrap.

He also demanded a 25% cess on the export of basic iron or steel.

Mr Badal said that the government should either levy cess on export of iron ore or ban the export of iron ore. In his letter, Mr Badal urged the Prime Minister to declare iron ore as national heritage, since this product and its stocks were limited. He said that the setting up of a regulatory commission would be a right step to resolve all the issues relating to steel prices.

Punjab has a large number of small scale industrial units and is one of the largest consumers of steel. The units were engaged in production of cycle parts, machine tools, hand tools auto parts etc.

Jharkhand CM assures financial help for HEC

Ranchi Express reported that Mr Madhu Koda chief minister of Jharkhand has assured union minister of state for heavy industries Mr Raghunath Jha that the state government will respond positively to the request of Heavy Engineering Corporation management for an advance of INR 100 crore to meet its working capital requirements.

Mr Koda also said that the modified package for revival of the corporation was under active consideration of the state government and that it was keen to pull out the HEC from financial crisis.

India to auction coal blocks to steel and cement firms

It is reported that a large number of coal blocks lying in the command areas of the public sector coal companies namely Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited will be auctioned by the government on commercial basis to the highest bidder for captive use of cement and steel companies. These coal blocks would be those not required by these two companies according to their production program during the 11th Plan period.

Already two such blocks with Western Coalfields Limited in Madhya Pradesh have been identified, namely Tandsi III & Extension and Thesgora B/Rudrapur. Identifying other blocks lying in the command areas of the other coal producing companies based on technological and quality considerations are currently underway.

Currently, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act does not permit the government to auction coal blocks commercially through an open bidding system. The existing provisions in the Act demands that an empowered committee, usually headed by the coal secretary, decide on allocation based on a case to case basis on merit. Apart from delay in decision making, the process has also come in for criticism on account of non transparency.

The MMDR Act is now being amended. The cabinet has also approved the proposed amendment and would soon be placed before Parliament for introducing auctioning of coal mining blocks for captive use through competitive bidding as the selection process for allocation.

According to officials, in the earlier process there were no fixed parameters and there was scope for discretion. They said that "The new system would also incentivise the companies buying the mines as their capital would be blocked which in turn would make them strive to develop the mines in the shortest possible time to ensure speedy return on capital employed as well as check raw material costs."

Traffic handled by major ports in India in 2007-08

Mr Thiru TR Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport & highways said that the volume of the traffic handled by all the major ports has been steadily rising over the years.

The details of the volume of the traffic handled by the major ports from 2005-06 to 2007-08 are as follows

In million tonnes

The Major Ports are continuously modernizing the port infrastructure based on the requirements of port users and no obsolete technology is being used. It is anticipated that the major ports will handle traffic of 708.09 million tonnes by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan.

Modernization of ports is a continuous process wherein various projects covering the entire spectrum of activities in the port sector are taken up based on the requirement of each individual port. The department of shipping has finalized a National Maritime Development Program for modernization of the port sector for implementation by 2011-12.

These projects cover the entire gamut of activities in the port sector which include berth development, deepening of channel, procurement of equipment and port craft, rail road connectivity and other associated work. Till date, 29 projects of the Port sector with a total cost of INR 3846 crore have been completed under NMDP.

HP likely to take actions against Brakel Corporation

It is reported that Himachal Pradesh government is likely to take actions against the Dutch company Brakel Corporation for the delay in implementation of two power projects namely Jangi Thopan and Thopan Power in Himachal Pradesh.

As per report, Brakel has been charged with a two year delay in submitting deposit of INR 173 crore for the two projects and initiating work in the name of Brakel Kinnaur Power. T

his led to issue of show cause notice in January 2008. After blaming the government for the delays, the company finally paid the amount on January 29th 2008, but it was deposited in the government treasury only in early April 2008. The two projects were awarded to Brakel in November 2006.

The state government is now demanding interest on the delayed payment, which the company has offered to pay. The deposit was calculated at the rate of INR 3.613 million per MW.

HCC bags civil work order for Teesta Hydro project from Lanco

Indian construction major Hindustan Construction Company has been awarded the work of Lot - IV of Teesta Hydro Electro Power Project Stage - VI at Tarkhola near Rangpo in the district of South Sikkim by Lanco Infra Tech Ltd. This order is worth INR 303.02 crore for all civil works and will be completed in 44 months.

The contract covers construction of underground power house cavern, underground transformer cavern, two numbers of 16 meter diameter and 60 meter high simple surge shafts, four numbers of 5.4 meter diameter circular pressure shaft, two numbers of D shaped tail race tunnels, modified horse shoe shaped HRTs and Civil works of switch yard.

HCC is also involved in construction of NHPC's Teesta Low Dam Hydroelectric Power Project Stage IV in West Bengal involving construction of diversion arrangement, concrete gravity dam along with spillway, roller compacted concrete dam, intake structure, surface power house, tail race channel, switch yard and other associated civil works.

Ambuja Cements announces outlook

Ambuja Cements Limited while announcing outlook said that "As expected, economic growth is slowing to some extent, although the construction sector remains relatively buoyant and cement demand is unlikely to be significantly affected.

It said that “However, the necessity to absorb ever increasing input costs means that ACL's profit margins will remain under pressure. While all possible measures will be taken to mitigate this impact by further improving energy efficiency and operating processes, coal prices in particular continue to escalate to new highs, imported coal prices having almost doubled year on year.”

The release added that “Indian government has banned exports of cement and clinker with effect from April 11th 2008, to increase availability of cement in domestic markets. However, since 90% of industry exports are shipped from Gujarat, the government's objective may not be realized due to location disadvantage, as well as infrastructure constraints, in transporting from Gujarat to other markets.”

Wienerberger enters into Indian brick market

Wienerberger Brick Industry Private Limited has announced its foray into the Indian market with an initial investment of INR 90 crore.

The first investment would be utilized for setting up a manufacturing plant in Kunigal, which spreads over 30 acres of land. It would have an output of 100,000 tonnes per annum in phase one. Commercial production would start by the end of 2008 and would focus on hollow blocks under the brand name Porotherm and an exclusive range of Terca facing bricks. The Kunigal plant is Wienerberger's first Asian facility amongst 263 plants in 26 countries.

Mr Ingo Hofmaier MD of Wienerberger Brick Industry Private Limited said that "The demand for eco friendly building materials is on the rise globally. In India, the birthplace of clay brick architecture, clay is still the most preferred building material. We have a long term interest in the Indian building market and our endeavor to provide high quality clay hollow bricks, facing bricks, clay pavers and clay titles in the most cost effective manner has led to this investment."

Wienerberger said that clay is locally sourced and its load bearing clay hollow blocks can beat the heat due to its outstanding thermal insulation properties.

RSP creates new production records in April

PTI reported that Steel Authority of India Limited’s Rourkela Steel Plant has set a new benchmark for itself by posting very impressive and all time best results in all areas of products during April 2008.

Category Volume Change
Sinter 277,281 22%
Hot metal 179,334 22%
Crude steel 169,211 28%
Saleable steel 156,275 33%
Dispatch 140,485 18%
Volume in tonnes
Change is YoY

During April 2008, RSP continued to operate its major facilities much above the rated capacity achieving capacity utilization of 110% in the production of sinter, 109% in hot metal, 108% in crude steel and nearly 114% of rated capacity in total saleable steel production.

Ternium wants to maintain minority stake in Sidor

It is reported that Ternium wants to retain a share in Venezuela's largest steelmaker, even as a minority partner in the company that President Mr Hugo Chavez nationalized last week.

Mr Daniel Novegil president of Ternium told Argentina's Clarin newspaper that "We understand the decision in the political context of Venezuela. We are willing to reach an agreement, as long as the terms are fair and we'll keep working so Sidor can continue to be successful under state control.”

Mr Novegil, who said he met with Venezuelan leaders in Caracas after Chavez's announcement last week, hopes Ternium could reach a deal to retain a share and sell the rest at a fair price. He said that "We are in the midst of negotiating. We want a fair price, which should be market value, according to investment protection treaties between Argentina and Venezuela and the protocols of Mercosur."

Mr Novegil declined to say how much Chavez's government had offered to pay Ternium, but noted that the company's continued involvement would help it compete on every front with the huge steel groups that are coming to the region.

Mr Chavez ordered Sidor nationalized weeks ago. But he moved to expropriate the company outright on April 30th 2008 as talks to fix a price for Ternium's 60% stake in the steel company stalled.

POSCO acquires 88.7% stake in Daewoo Engineering

POSCO announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, POSCO Engineering & Construction has acquired 88.7% stake in DAEWOOENGINEERING COMPANY CO. LTD effective May 2nd 2008.

CAP Q1 sales revenue up by 35% YoY

BNamericas reported that Chilean iron and steel group CAP saw its profits for the first quarter of 2008 rise to USD 61.3 million from USD 47.9 million in the year ago period. But including the sale of CAP's stake in the Carmen de Andacollo copper mine in the first quarter of 2007, the company's profit for Q1 of 2007 amounted to USD 103 million.

CAP's sales revenue in this year's first quarter jumped to USD 489 million up by 35.47% YoY from USD 361 million in the first quarter of 2007. Costs rose to USD 392 million in the recent period from USD 293 million in Q1 of 2007.

Iron ore sales in 1Q08 increased 21% to 1.67 million tonnes while its average selling price for its mix of iron ore products rose to USD 49 per tonne USD 35 per tonne in Q1 of 2007.

Steel product sales rose 17.2% to 352,656 tones in the latest quarter and the average price for the mix of steel products rose to USD 832 per tonne from USD 675 per tonne.

Recession reports - US car sales plunge by 14% in March

It is reported that US car sales fell 14% to their lowest annual rate in a decade last month as weak consumer confidence and rising gas prices hit the industry's most profitable vehicles hardest.

General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler posted deeper sales declines than expected, led by a sharp drop in trucks and SUVs. Asian competitors also struggled, with Toyota Motor Corporation posting a 5% decline and Nissan Motor Co sales dropping almost 2%.

Mr Erich Merkle consulting firm IRN director of forecasting said that "Almost no one buys new vehicles because they have to, they want to. And in order to want to they have to feel good about their future. That's just not the case today."

According to Autodata Corporation, overall US sales fell to about 14.4 million units on an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis last month, marking the worst result for the industry since August 1998. Of equal concern to car makers, buyers defected from high margin trucks and SUVs to cheaper and more fuel efficient cars more rapidly than expected due to high gasoline prices.

Car sales represent one of the first monthly snapshots of US consumer demand and investors have looked to the reports for evidence of whether the US economy has slipped further toward recession since the start of the year.

Rebar pricing stronger in Europe than US

According to the Platts monthly average price assessments, steel reinforcing bar continued to command stronger pricing in Europe than in the US during April.

Aside from an 18.2% surge to USD 790.45 per short ton ex works US Southeast compared with March, there was an 11.2% boost to USD 990.45 per tonne FOB Turkey.

Rebar also increased 7.2% to EUR 623.64 per tonne ex works Northwest Europe during April and gained 6.1% to USD 792.73 per short ton CIF Houston.

US Steel to break ground for coke JV

United States Steel Corporation in partnership with SunCoke Energy, Inc will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for their joint capital investment program to support US Steel's Granite City Works. The groundbreaking is scheduled for May 5th 2008 at US Steel's Granite City Works.

Among those scheduled to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony are Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich; US Rep John Shimkus, Illinois state Reps Mr Tom Holbrook, Mr Jay Hoffman and Mr Daniel Beiser; Illinois state Mr Sen William Haine and Mr Ed Hagnauer mayor of Granite City.

In addition, Mr John Goodish executive VP & COO of US Steel Corporation, Mr Mike Thomson executive VP & COO SunCoke Energy Inc., Ms Sharon Owen GM of US Steel Granite City Works; employees of US Steel and SunCoke Energy as well as other state and local elected officials will attend the ceremony.

Michigan Seamless to hike prices

Michigan Seamless Tube has announced that the spot price of cold drawn seamless mechanical tubes will increase by USD 160 to USD 200 per short ton.

According to a statement from the company, its alloy seamless pipes will raise by USD 200 per short ton and carbon steel pipes will rise by USD 160 per short ton.

The price rise will be effective after May 12th 2008.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Mr Visclosky all for using only US made steel

It is reported that US Rep Peter Visclosky told the Congressional Steel Caucus last week that he will cosponsor legislation aimed at curbing substandard Chinese steel imports by requiring federally funded projects to use only American made material.

Mr Visclosky, who chairs the caucus, said at a hearing in Washington, that he will propose the American Steel First Act, which would mandate programs under the auspices of the US Department of Transportation, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to use US produced steel on domestic and civilian construction projects, such as airports, bridges, railroads, roads and the Mexico border fence.

He said "The reports of substandard steel, coupled with China's currency manipulation, its lack of labor and environmental standards and its direct government subsidies, help explain why our trade deficit with China grows and our manufacturing sector is shrinking. China just doesn't play by the rules, and, as was made evident in today's hearing, we must take positive action to protect ourselves from Chinese steel and support our domestic steel industry.”

Hyundai Steel increases section steel prices for May

South Korea Hyundai Steel is going to increase section steel price by KRW 90,000 per tonne in May due to increasing raw material and production costs.

Currently the price for standard H section steel is at KRW 1.06 million per tonne and the smaller size angel section steel is sold at KRW 1.04 million per tonne.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Sandvik divests Hagby Asahi AB in Sweden

Sandvik announced that it has decided Sweden Hagby Asahi AB and has reached an agreement with Husqvarna Construction Products Sweden AB, which is the new owner of the construction division. The construction division was transferred to the new owner on April 30th 2008.

In addition to Hagby Asahi’s position as a manufacturer and supplier of tools and equipment for mineral exploration, the company also included a construction division that develops and sells equipment for drilling and grinding of concrete using diamond tools.

Sandvik has acquired Sweden Hagby Asahi AB in 2006 in a series of strategic acquisitions that established Sandvik as a leading supplier to the exploration industry.

The construction division has a focus and market in an area in which Sandvik otherwise does not have a business presence and can therefore not be considered core operation for Sandvik.

USS POSCO to raise price on flat products for July

USS POSCO Industries has announced to its customers that they will raise price by USD 150 pert ton for cold rolled and galvanized sheets since July shipment, followed by the previous hike of USD 50 per ton for June shipment.

The prices for July shipment is expected to reach USD 1,120 to USD 1,140 per tonne.

On the other hand, the region's counterpart, California Steel Industries Inc has also planned to raise price USD 150 per ton for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized sheet for June shipment.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

voestalpine acquires 60% stake in Control & Display Systems

voestalpine Group has concluded a further important acquisition in the turnout technology segment. VAE, the global market leader in turnouts and turnout systems has acquired a 60% stake in the British company Control & Display Systems Ltd which is specialized in the monitoring and the gathering and transmission of data from railway trackside assets.

CDS Rail is a leading company in the area of monitoring systems for the railway trackside. For example, it offers technologies providing railway companies with data transmitted directly from the track via internet, email or SMS. With information received in real time, they can react instantly and proactively to any possible technical problem.
CDS Rail is predominantly active in Great Britain and employs more than 20 staff there and achieves equivalent annual revenues of about EUR 6 million.

Hytronics a combination of hydraulics and electronics stands for unique diagnostics and drive systems, which improve safety, reduce maintenance and thus optimize life cycle costs.

The strategic relevance of this acquisition results from the fact, that the British company represents a valuable complement to VAE’s Hytronics product segment, which covers all activities of electronic monitoring units and hydraulic setting systems for railtracks.

Worthington Industries president and CFO to retire

Worthington Industries announced that Mr John Christie president & CFO has requested early retirement. Mr Christie will stay with Worthington through the end of July to permit an orderly close of the company's yearly financial statements and a smooth transition to a new CFO.

Mr Christie said that “This was a very difficult decision for me. I agreed to take on the added role of CFO in 2003, but it was not my intention to stay on in this capacity for more than 5 years.

Mr Christie also said recently diagnosed family health issues made him realize that the demands of the position make it difficult for family to be a priority. He added that "It will be hard to leave Worthington, but there is a strong financial team in place."

Mr John P. McConnell chairman & CFO of Worthington said that "I value the contributions and commitment John has made to Worthington. John became President in 1999. A few years later, he agreed to take over as CFO in the midst of ever-tightening financial regulations that began with Sarbanes Oxley. Under John's leadership, our financial team has responded well to these increasing demands. We wish John all the best in his retirement and thank him for his service."

Start up of the Metalurgia office took place in Argentina

It is reported that the opening ceremony of the offices of the new consulting, testing and training company for the metals industry took place at San Nicolas in Buenos Aires Province of Argentina on April 23. The San Nicolas major attended the ceremony, together with authorities of the local university, suppliers, officers and employees of the new company.

Mr Jorge Madias MD of the company said that the activities of Metalurgia centered in R&D, technical assistance, testing and analysis, training and events for the metals industry and other industries using metals. He highlighted that the Metalurgia personnel came from the steel industry, the Foundry industry, as well as the related research and teaching institutions.

Courses are programmed all along the country, on subjects like metallographic, Foundry technology, wire drawing, heat treatment, clean Steel production, etc. Technical assistance is starting for several local and Latin America companies.

Linde sells Cryogas in Colombia to Indura of Chile

The Linde Group has sold its Colombian subsidiary Cryogas SA to the Chilean industrial gases and welding company Indura SA at an enterprise value of EUR 90 million.

The Linde Group owned 73.95% of Cryogas and just recently acquired an additional 26% of the shares, all which were sold to Indura SA. Following the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, the transaction was now completed.

Cryogas SA employs a staff of around 400 and achieved sales of approximately EUR 49 million in the 2007 financial year.

This divestiture was an antitrust condition imposed by the Colombian regulatory authorities arising from the acquisition of The BOC Group plc by Linde which became effective on 5 September 2006.

Recession reports - UK house prices posted first drop since 1996

According to Nationwide Building Society, UK house prices fell in April from a year earlier, the first such decline since 1996, after the credit squeeze dried up finance for property purchases.

Nationwide Building Society said that home values dropped 1% to GBP 178,555 from a year earlier. Its index is one of the measures used by the Bank of England when assessing the housing market. From March, prices fell by 1.1%double the pace economists had forecast.

Nationwide’s report is the latest to suggest a downturn in the UK housing market is worsening. HBOS Plc, the country’s largest mortgage lender said this month that prices fell in March by the most since 1992. The Bank of England said that mortgage approvals dropped to 64,000 last month, the lowest since records began in 1999.

Policy maker Mr David Blanchflower said that mortgage lenders approved the fewest new loans since at least 1999 last month after turmoil in credit markets prompted banks to tighten standards for borrowers. While the Bank of England has cut interest rates to stave off a recession, house prices may fall by a third and a report today showed consumer confidence fell to the lowest since 1992. Mr Blanchflower said that house prices may drop by a third in the next three years and urged his colleagues on the Monetary Policy Committee to take aggressive action on rates. He said that “Monetary policy, in my view, still remains restrictive currently and we need to take action to loosen policy sooner rather than later.”

Ms Fionnuala Earley Nationwide chief economist in a Bloomberg Television interview said that “We’ve been expecting some moderate fall in house prices this year and that’s only to be expected since we’re seeing deteriorating affordability and tighter credit market conditions.” She forecasts that prices may decline as much as 5% this year.

Ferrous scrap prices holding firm in US

Plats reported that US scrap market remained in a state of limbo as processors and consumers looked for pricing cues as they attempted to agree on May numbers and conduct sales.

As such, the Platts price assessment for shredded scrap delivered to Midwest locations remained unchanged at USD 550 per short ton to USD 560 per short ton, with a midpoint of USD 555 per short ton.

One eastern processor said that "We're still trying to figure out May.”

A second large Eastern processor agreed that "The mills are keeping a low profile. He said that “I would expect some numbers to be floated but no real activity until next week."

A third processor who had not yet sold for May reported hearing of consumer efforts to stem the rapid rise in scrap prices. He said that "I haven't heard anything, other than there seems to be a hard effort on the [part] domestic consumers to try to push prices down, but they aren't succeeding.”

One mid south scrap processor disagreed. He reported that last month's high prices had drawn out more scrap, increasing flows and available material. He said that "The shredder yards are full, suggesting an abundance of material could lead to downward pressure on prices.

FreightCar America reports Q1 results

FreightCar America Inc reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31st 2008. For the first quarter of 2008, sales were USD 95.1 million and net income was USD 1.1 million. For the first quarter of 2007, it generated sales of USD 322.5 million and net income of USD 23.0 million.

Mr Chris Ragot president & CEO of FreightCar America Inc said that “In addition to the broad economic headwinds that have impacted the overall economy, the decreasing volume levels and pricing pressure in our industry have had a significant impact on our financial results for the quarter.”

Mr Ragot said that “Orders for new railcars totaled 2,396 units in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 2,074 units ordered in the fourth quarter of 2007 and 768 units ordered in the first quarter of 2007. The backlog of unfilled orders was 6,785 units at March 31st 2008, which consists of 6,508 new cars and 277 rebuild/refurbishment cars, compared with 5,399 units at December 31, 2007 and 6,006 units at March 31, 2007. We expect to see similar industry trends for the foreseeable future/remainder of this year.”

FreightCar America Inc manufactures railroad freight cars, with particular expertise in coal carrying railcars. In addition to coal cars, FreightCar America designs and builds bulk commodity cars, flat cars, mill gondola cars, intermodal cars, coil steel cars and motor vehicle carriers.

HRC prices in EU to reach EUR 700 per tonne in Q3

According to a senior executive at ArcelorMittal, hot rolled coil prices in Europe are likely to move up to EUR 700 per tonne in the third quarter of this year on continued firm demand.

Japanese steel exports in March up by 21.3% YoY

The Japan Iron and Steel Federation said Japan's steel exports totaled 3.895 million tonnes in March, up by 21.3% YoY.

Exports to South Korea jumped by 21.8% YoY while those to China gained 17.7% YoY and those to Thailand rose 6.7% YoY.

(Volume is in tonnes)

Honeywell to supply control system for Rautaruukki plant in Finland

Honeywell announced that Rautaruukki Oyj will use Honeywell’s Experion PKS with PMD Controller system to automate the production processes of its Raahe in Finland, manufacturing plant. Collectively, the Honeywell solutions will serve to streamline the production line, helping to increase output and enhance product quality.

The Experion system will be used to control the secondary metallurgical process a key sub process in manufacturing high quality steel products. It will also be used to automate processes such as the injection of additional elements into the molten steel, as well as temperature control. In addition, the Experion system will be delivered to the company's rolling mill, where it will be used to control the reheating of the furnace. The projects, which together total USD 2 million are expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Experion solution should bring vast improvements and new efficiencies to Rautaruukki’s production line said Timo Saarelainen, managing director, Honeywell Finland. In particular, the new automation system should deliver higher usability and improved functionality, and be capable of responding faster to process control requests.

Honeywell International is a USD 36 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers and specialty materials.

Worker killed at RPM Recycling plant

AP reported that a recycling plant worker was killed when a metal sorting tray fell on top of him. 60 year old Mr William Edwards was working on a machine used to recycle steel when the accident happened at RPM Recycling.

Coroner Mr Zachary Lysek said that a weld broke free and the tray then hit Edwards in the head around 9:30 AM on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sandfire to place shares with Korean steel giant

Sandfire Resources NL has finalized agreements with POSCO Australia Limited, under which POSCO Australia will acquire a 19.99% stake in Sandfire through a proposed share placement. The placement is comprised of 16.5 million fully paid shares at 40 cents each and 2.5 million partly paid ordinary shares at 25 cents a piece.
The companies have also agreed to a commercial agreement through which POSCO Australia or its nominated affiliates would have the right to purchase up to 30% of Sandfire’s future mineral production on commercial terms. In addition to the commercial arrangements, a provision has been made for POSCO Australia to nominate its representative to be appointed to the Sandfire board.

Sandifre said deal would provide it with an immediate AUD 7.2 million cash injection as well as the financial backing and strategic marketing, technical and corporate support. It said “This will enable Sandfire to accelerate the exploration of its high quality diversified portfolio of manganese, lead zinc silver, iron ore and gold projects in Australia, as well as position the Company to take advantage of additional resource opportunities, both in Australia and overseas.”

More specifically, Sandfire said the funds would allow continued exploration at the Borroloola Lead-Zinc Project in the Northern Territory, further drilling to establish a JORC Code compliant resource estimate at the Doolgunna Iron Ore Project, and ongoing exploration at the Doolgunna Gold Project.

The transaction still needs approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board government agency, which has been inundated with applications by Asian firms looking to invest in Australian mining.

MEED launches Middle East Steel 2008 report

It is reported that MEED has launched an in depth report on Middle East Steel 2008 which forecasts dramatic growth for the industry in the region.

The report investigates the activities and plans of the region's leading raw steel producers and their place in the global market, as well as looking at price and demand trends.

MEED's Middle East Steel 2008 report reveals that, despite only accounting for 2% of the global steel trade, the Middle East steel industry is undergoing rapid expansion to meet the needs of the fast expanding construction sector. It said that Middle East produced 21.1 million tonnes of raw steel in 2006 and consumed 41.6 million tonnes of finished goods and is forecast to rise to 35 million tonnes of production and 60 million tonnes of finished goods by 2010.

The report said that "According to MEED Projects, projects worth USD 2 trillion are planned or under way in the Gulf, with less than one quarter already awarded. The regional steel trade stands to make about USD 50 billion from projects currently under way and an additional USD 150 billion in the coming years from new schemes in the pipeline."

Further key insights from the report reveal that "Rebar prices went through the USD 1000 a tonne barrier in late March 2008. They shot up from USD 600 a tonne to well above USD 800 a tonne in the three months to end January 2008, reflecting the huge demand for long products from the booming construction industry. Traders report that regional market conditions remain highly volatile and unpredictable, in keeping with global commodities markets."

With Iran troubled by tension with the West, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the region in a position to substantially ramp up production to meet the strong regional demand. Egypt is the region's other major player, but exports little to the GCC.

Mr Peter Shaw Smith senior writer at Research & Information of MEED writes "High oil incomes, coupled with major changes to real estate and mortgage laws, have fuelled a construction boom, with developers scrambling to bring on fresh supply. This is causing a backlog in the projects market, where strains are being placed on contractor capacity and building materials supplies. Unsurprisingly against this backdrop, steel prices have been volatile."

UNICOIL update on production in Q1 of 2008

ArabSteel reported that production of Universal Metal Coating Company Ltd during the first quarter of 2008 amounted to 49,482 tonnes of cold rolled products as against 36,291 tonnes during January to March 2007. It production of coated and galvanized coils amounted to 74,752 tonnes as against 62,549 tons during January to March 2007.

Its exports of the galvanized and coated products during the first three months of 2008 amounted to 16,181 tonnes accounting for 21.6% of the total production, while 37,511 tons were sold to the domestic market. During the first quarter of 2008 sales to the domestic market which amounted to 25,500 tonnes up by about 12,000 tonnes as compared to the same period in 2007.
Mr Fahad Zamil Al-Thukair president of UNICOIL said that the price rise began to appear clearly since the beginning of the third quarter of 2007 as a result of the high prices of the raw materials which saw rises ranging 65% to 80%.

Mr. Al-Thukair said that these rises in prices taking place to the finished product came from the hot-rolled coils which, for UNICOIL, are considered raw materials in the production operations for cold re rolling and galvanizing. This increase came up to approximately 50% as compared to 2007 and it is going on with further increases.

Rajhi Steel production in 2007 up by 30% YoY

ArabSteel reported that Al-Rajhi Steel produced 730,000 tonnes of rebars in 2007 up by 30% YoY as against 560,000 tonnes in 2006. iyts 95% of production was directed to the domestic market and 5% for exports.

In addition to the reinforcing steel, it produces the merchant steel and tubes. Its production of these categories in 2007 was over 125,000 tonne.

It attributed the increase in production increase during 2007 to the commissioning of steel billet production mill at the beginning of 2007.

The release added that Rajhi Steel is planning to increase its reinforcing steel production by adding a new line with a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year. This mill is expected to come on stream at the beginning of 2009.

Al-Rajhi Steel is ranked third among the reinforcing steel producing companies in Saudi Arabia market.

Pakistan probing tin plate dumping case

Daily Times reported that National Tariff Commission is investigating dumping of four products including tin plate in Pakistan on the petition filed by the local industry.

Mr Muhammad Ikram Arif acting president of NTC informed the NTC has not received any fresh application from domestic industry against the Chinese imports for levying of anti dumping duties or countervailing duties at the import stage.

He said that the review of anti dumping duties was necessary in cases where five years has been completed since imposition of anti-dumping duties and the local industry has again approached the commission. Ninety days before the expiry of 5 years, NTC initiated reviewing process. The anti dumping reviews are full time investigation to ascertain the actual impact of anti dumping duty levied on any item 5 years ago.

Soaring steel prices hit furniture industry in Pakistan

The News reported that prices of rod iron furniture have increased by over 33% within a period of one and a half months adding further distress into the lives of inflation burdened people as household furniture now shoots out of common man’s reach in Pakistan.

The report cited a trader as saying that a standard bedroom set comprising a queen size bed, side tables and wardrobe costing between PKR 18,000 and PKR 20,000 just a month ago and now it ranges between PKR 24,000 and PKR 26,000 while a sofa set earlier valued at PKR 5,000 is now priced at PKR 7,000 or more.

Furniture dealers in Arambagh, Nursery and Gulshan furniture market said that following skyrocketing prices of rod iron furniture within a span of two months, customers blame dealers for the hike while many decide against buying furniture, consequently leading to a severe loss in their clientele.

Mr Samin Raza of Arambagh Cardinal Furnishers narrated a similar customer trend in his market. He said that "No businessman likes to lose his clients and therefore people blaming us for the sudden hike are unjustified as we ourselves have had to buy the furniture at a higher cost and hence were compelled to pass it on to our customers."

Mr Turhan Baig Mohammed chairman of All Pakistan Furniture Exporters Association said that despite furniture exports of USD 20 million, rod iron furniture is not exported from Pakistan to any country hence the price hike does not affect international trade in any way. He added that "Various other countries have a better competitive market as compared to Pakistan in this category of furniture with better expertise in design making, leaving the country out of the race."

Rod iron furniture is preferred amongst the lower and middle income people as it is cheaper compared to wooden or deco furniture and the price variations stood as significant as PKR 15,000 at minimum. However, with the hike in prices of rod iron furniture, the line between wooden furniture and the former seems to be fading as wooden furniture continues to retain their prices and consumers are left with a hard choice to make.

Materials short supply may hit construction industry in Qatar

According to officials from the Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry, basic building materials are in short supply again, threatening to hit the booming construction industry in Qatar.

Mr Mohamed bin Ahmed Tawar Al Kuwari executive director of Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that “The shortages are leading to unprecedented price escalation. The shortages have affected the prices of cement, steel, sand and grit.”

He added that "During a meeting QCCI members had with the Prime Minister in 2007, the issue of short supply of basic materials and their high prices was on top of the agenda. Also discussed was the practice of monopolies in some sectors, which are responsible for the high prices. The meeting with the Premier had ended on a positive note and its impact was positive as the prices eased and the monopolistic practices were curtailed."

According to Mr Nasser Al Meer head of the contracting sector at the QCCI, a study conducted by the Chamber on shortages and price rise has been referred to the Chamber's board. The study is to be approved by the directors of the Chamber and subsequently forwarded to the Prime Minister's office for action.

Mr Al Meer said that the study suggests that given occasional shortages and price hikes, the government should make basic building materials available to construction and contracting companies at subsidized rates. Mr Al Meer further added that the study contains extensive statistics and compares the prices of various building materials in the country over the past several years to show how the graph has been going up steeply.

The QCCI is going to urge the state to make cement, steel, grit and sand available to local builders and contractors at subsidized prices.

Zamil Industrial inks 50:50 JV with Hudson Products

Zamil Industrial has announced the launch of a new 50:50 JV with Hudson Products Corporation, through its affiliate Hudson Products Middle East LLC.

The partnership, which will operate from Dammam in Saudi Arabia, will focus on the manufacture, assembly and maintenance of air cooled heat exchangers serving utility, petroleum, chemical, oil and gas processing and industrial customers in the Middle East, Africa and central Asia.

Mr Christopher F Yunkun president & CEO of Hudson Products Corporation said that "I am very pleased to partner with Zamil Industrial. Surely this new JV will benefit from the company's solid regional and international reputation, customer relationships, manufacturing expertise and service capabilities. The partnership places our companies in a position to meet growing and changing industrial product needs across the region for today and well into the future."

Mr Abdulla Al Zamil COO at Zamil Industrial said that "Hudson Products Corporation is a recognized world leader in the heat transfer equipment industry. It has a broad base of experience, gained during a history exceeding 65 years. The new JV enhances Zamil Industrial's flexibility and strength, empowering the company to continue manufacturing the highest quality cooling systems for industrial applications."

WAPDA seeks PKR 500 million to connect 9 IPPs

Daily Times reported that Pakistan’s Water & Power Development Authority has sought PKR 500 million from the federal government to allocate in public sector development program 2008-09 to connect nine new independent power producers with national power grid stations.

Government officials said that WAPDA is seeking approval of the project interconnection of 9 IPPs with national power grid station from the government and has sought the money for this purpose. They said that these IPPs are the part of the upcoming 15 IPPs aimed at generating 2,376 MW power by 2009-10. Under the project, power supply would be connected with Pakistan Electric Power Supply Company.

Source said that former government has signed agreements with these IPPs on high tariff of 12 cents per kwh to 14 cents per kwh and in this way electricity will be most expensive in the coming years. Source said that the tariff has been granted based on PKR 25,500 per tonne furnace oil price and if the price of furnace oil shoots up, the tariff would automatically go up, putting additional burden on the consumers.

WAPDA has sought the approval of the project from central development working party of planning commission that has the authority to approve the project worth PKR 500 million. As the prices of furnace oil in the international market continue rising constantly, WAPDA would be receiving the electricity over the rates of PKR 10 per unit from these IPPs.

At present PEPCO is receiving the most expensive electricity from Hub Power Company at rate of over PKR 10 per unit. Source said that the higher rates of electricity by new IPPs would badly hurt the production of the country making them uncompetitive with the products of other countries like India, China and Bangladesh.

WAPDA is also working on small dams that would generate 516 MW power. WAPDA, in its short term plan, has also 400 MW to 500 MW rental power projects that would be completed during the next 6 months.

New office bearers elected for Arab Iron & Steel Union

The Arab Iron & Steel Union held the meetings of the board of directors and general assembly in the city of Sharm El Sheikh in the Arab Republic of Egypt during April 22nd and April 23rd 2008 in the presence of the representatives of the union's members.

Mr Ahmad Ezz chairman of the board of directors of Ezz Steel was elected to be the chairman of the board of directors of the union. Three deputy chairmen were elected from SABIC Hadeed Company represented by the VP of SABIC Metals, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Iron & Steel Company, Mr Ibrahim Al Shwaier, General Organization of Engineering Industries represented by Mr Ziad Kutaini and Constromet Company in Algeria represented by Mr Lahlou Youssef.

Appointment of the union's secretary general, Mr Mohamed Laid Lachgar, was renewed for another office for four years. In his report to the board of directors the secretary general indicated that the production of the Arab companies of the finished steel products amounted to 25 million tonnes in 2007.

Participants in the meetings focused on the necessity of co operation among the steel producers to face the challenges resulting mainly from the rising costs of the production inputs which forced producers to increase the prices of their products.

Dr Mahmoud Mohyeddine Egypt’s minister of investment spoke in the opening session of the general assembly of the union and highlighted the important role assumed by the steel industry in the economic development, the job opportunities provided by it and an investment not only in the industry itself but in the feeding industries and the industries using its products. Such opportunities amount to about nine folds in the complementing industries.

The attendants reviewed the fast growth in the Arab steel industry with rates exceeding the average of the world growth in this industry as a result of the positive constituents available in the Arab region which place this industry in the second rank in the order of the best world regions qualified for expansion in this industry.

Attendants also discussed the challenges facing the steel industry in an umber of the countries of the world, including the Arab countries, resulting from the trend of the exporters of the main services and raw materials necessary for this industry to increase the prices of the ores and requisites at high and unprecedented rates which amounted to 65% in 2008 compared to the prices of 2006, which resulted in a considerable increase in the production cost and forcing the steel producers to increase the prices of their products to counter this rise in the prices of the imported ores, which, in turn, led to the consumer's dissatisfaction.

The meeting also included honoring the top Arab companies in steel production during 2007. These companies are
Egyptian Ezz Steel – 4.853 million tonnes
Saudi SABIC – 4.742 million tonnes
Saudi Al Tuwairqi Group – 2.2 million tonnes
Libyan Iron & Steel Company – 1.175 million tonnes

Gulf Petroleum gets Malaysian nod for USD 5 billion oil project

Qatar based Gulf Petroleum Limited recently announced that it has secured the Malaysian government's approval to build a USD 5 billion oil and gas complex project.

Gulf Petroleum said that the project's development will start as soon as possible after resolving technical issues regarding a 1,000 acre site in Malaysia's northern Perak state.

Gulf Petroleum said that at least two national oil firms from the Middle East will participate in the project, with other consortium members comprising major oil and gas, banking and insurance groups from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Turkish machinery show MachiTech'08 opens in Jeddah

Arab News reported that 'MachiTech'08', the fourth Turkish machine and machinery equipment exhibition, opened at the Jeddah International Exhibition & Convention Center recently. Supported by the Turkish government, the event will focus on heavy machinery and equipment.

The exhibition profile includes construction and mining equipment and machinery, cranes, lifting, loading and transporting equipment, cutting tools and tool holders, parts and components for automotive industry, metal processing machines, die casting machines, food processing and packing machines, special purpose machines and machine tools and plastic, rubber and bakelite processing machines. Also being exhibited are wood working machines, packing and filling machines, pneumatic machines, equipment and systems, and pumps, turbines and valves, aside from iron and steel.

A spokesman for Expotim International Fair Organizations Inc of Turkey, which is organizing the show in cooperation with Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions Limited, said that "Our focus is on showcasing new machinery, equipment and advanced technology with a view to offering them to local distributors, agents and manufacturers."

With the Kingdom's construction sector booming and 6 new economic cities including King Abdullah Economic City under way, Turkey hopes for marketing its construction and mining machinery in a big way. In fact, Turkey itself has a strong construction industry, which accounts for 5.6% of the country's gross national product. The development of construction industry has resulted in a large and diversified production of building material, a dynamic contracting and engineering services sector and a well established construction and mining machinery sector.

Chinese HRC export prices to surge this week

It is reported that Chinese export offer for Chinese HRC are expected to move up further in May. Export offers for commodity grade thick gauge HRC are prevailing at USD 920 per tonne USD 940 per tonne FOB.

Some traders told Mysteel that they are able to get allocation at USD 900 per tonne to USD 910 per tonne FOB but steel makers are expected to raise price again in May and the target is likely to be set at USD 1000 per tonne FOB.

Export tonnages in March have rebounded and those for April and May shipment are anticipated to move up further. There is much higher profit from exports than domestic sales, thus the enthusiasm probably would continue in Q2.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Chinese trade surplus falls by 11% YoY in Q1 of 2008

Interfax quoted the China General Administration of Customs announced that China's trade surplus down by 10.81%YoY to USD 41.42 billion in the first three months of this year. However, the country's trade surplus in March alone surged 95.18%YoY to USD 13.41 billion on the back of a much faster increase in export turnover over the month compared to the same period last year.

China's import and export turnover in March and in the first quarter of 2008 is under

Source: General Administration of Customs of China

ArcelorMittal in talks with Angang Steel - Report

FT reported that ArcelorMittal has held informal discussions with China’s second largest steel company Angang Steel about working with in an effort to extend its presence in China. As per report, Mr LN Mittal president & CEO of ArcelorMittal, in a private meeting just over two months ago with Mr Zhang Xiaogang, chairman of Angang proposed to buy about 25% stake in Angang.

As per report “While Mr Zhang turned down Mr Mittal’s suggestion that ArcelorMittal should be allowed to take a 20% to 30% stake, he told the Financial Times he would be keen in principle to allow ArcelorMittal a much smaller shareholding in Angang of 1% to 2%.”

The report added that Mr Zhang was also open to co operating with ArcelorMittal, for instance in new steelmaking or mining projects. He told FT that “We can work together. We have similar ideas. Angang could gain useful international experience through working with ArcelorMittal, perhaps through both companies taking an equity stake in a stand alone production venture.”

FT report also cited Mr Mittal as saying that “ArcelorMittal has made no formal proposal for any kind of joint project involving Angang Steel. However, I had an informal discussion with Mr Zhang about various possibilities. As part of this, I tossed around a number of ideas. This is similar to the discussions I have with many steel companies.”

Angang is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, with a controlling shareholding of 67% owned by Anshan Iron and Steel, a Chinese government company. Angang produced 16 million tonnes of steel in 2007.

Chinese CRC export prices to go up further in May

It is reported that Chinese export offer for Chinese CRC are expected to move up further in May. Export offer for 1.0 CRC is still at around USD 1000 per tonne FOB and allocation is said to be tight. However, tonnages for March shipment only see small increase despite higher profit from overseas sales.

Sources said that there is not strong demand for Chinese CRC at the current high price levels. South East Asia and USA have lost steam in steel exports and the EU has not seen strong sentiment on CRC imports. Hence, the real overseas demand will decide whether current high export price could sustain for a long period.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Baoshan Steel expect prices to stay high to cover costs

It is reported that Baoshan Iron & Steel Co said rising demand will keep domestic steel prices at high levels in the third quarter as production costs would not fall in the third quarter.

Mr Fu Zhongzhe president of Baoshan said in an online conference with investors said that "China's steel prices will fluctuate within high levels in the third quarter and its earnings per share for 2008 will beat last year's results helped by a tax cut.”

He added that the company raised benchmark prices by 8% in the first quarter and a further 20% in the second quarter and these gains are enough to cover higher iron ore costs. Mr Fu said that “Its stainless steel business turned a profit in the first quarter and performance will improve again for the three months ending June.”

He said that the company will shut its No 1 blast furnace in the fourth quarter for maintenance, which will cut steel production by 1 million tonnes.

Chinese HDG export prices to surge this week

It is reported that Chinese export offer for Chinese HDG are expected to move up further in May. Export offers by steel makers are quite divergent and the price gap is becoming bigger. Those lower quotations for 1.0mm HDG is at around USD 980 per tonne FOB to USD 1000 per tonne FOB which compares with higher level of USD 1050 per tonne FOB to USD 1100 per tonne FOB.

Mysteel forecasts hot dipped galvanized coil price are still creeping up in China. On Shanghai market, 1.0mm HDG by Anshan steel is being quoted at CNY 6550 per tonne to CNY 6600 per tonne, 0.5mm material by private steel mills at CNY 7000 per tonne. As long as Shanghai price for 1.0mm HDG remain above CNY 6400 per tonne the next target would be CNY 6800 per tonne ore CNY 7000 per tonne.

Export volume saw strong rebound in the past months. The tonnage for March shipment is 192,000 tonnes up by 67% MoM but down by 33% YoY. There is expected to be more HDG exports in April and May.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Baosteel develops HDG TRIP steel for automobiles

It is reported that recently, Baosteel successfully developed hot galvanized steel TRIP steel, which further enriches Baosteel automobile supply chain and made Baosteel stride a step in developing advanced high strength automobile sheets.

HDG TRIP steel with high strength and elongation is one of the steel sheets for automobile resulting in less weight and energy saving.

Since Baosteel achieved commercial production of 600 Mpa cold rolled TRIP steel, Baosteel and the Institute of Automobile Steel overcame many difficulties and successfully firstly developed 600 Mpa hot galvanized TRIP steel.

Chinese pig iron price moving up in May

It is reported that domestic pig iron has started to move up in May after one and a half month sluggish since middle of March due to steel and raw material price rising as well as busy steel consumption season’s coming.

ISRI members to discuss trade issues with Chinese government

It is reported that US based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries is soliciting its members to participate in a program initiated by the US government as part of its Strategic Economic Dialog between US and China. Under the China Transparency Initiative with the Chinese Government, US government has proposed to the Chinese that there be an Administrative Licensing Program on Registration for Foreign Scrap Suppliers.

This program, currently scheduled for May 21st 2008 but subject to change by a day or two, will be an opportunity for the US scrap recycling industry under the aegis of an official US government initiative to share with the Chinese government directly some of the challenges posed by the AQSIQ registration of exporters of scrap materials to China and the CCIC pre shipment inspection program. The meeting is scheduled to be held at Beijing in China.

The Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for China will be in attendance representing the US government. Other government officials also will be in attendance.

China's policies to curb export of high energy-consuming products have partly paid off, as a sharp decline of steel exports drove down the country's foreign sales of such goods by a big margin in February. Sources with the General Administration of Customs said that in February, China sold abroad 3.11 million tonnes of rolled steel, a decrease of 1.26 million tonnes, or 28.9% YoY. Exports of steel billets were only 2,000 tonnes, down by 99.7% YoY.

Chinese steel export shows mixed trend in Q1 of 2008

According to the Customs data, Beijing's efforts to rein in steel export and appreciating CNY are bearing fruit, as China’s steel export fell by 19.3% YoY to 11.39 million tonnes in the first quarter although March shipment rebounded from February to 4.16 million tonnes but still down by 22.6% YoY from March 2007.

In fact Chinese steel exports have recorded a six month decline since last July.

The tax rebate change has clearly put a squeeze on export of some lower end products such as wire rods, rebar products and section, which drop a cliff off 44% and 36% respectively in the first three months due primarily to 15% export tax.

By contrary, 5% export tax on steel plate has resulted in 8% decline of plate export in the review period and the export volume of plate has risen up to 50% of China's total steel export.

Meanwhile, the steel export to Middle East has also dropped 57% in Q1 as a result of the export tax and the wire rod/bar export down as much as 92%.

Mysteel analyst also notes that foreign demand for shipbuilding plate in particular from South Korea and Vietnam has posted notable growth in the first quarter despite overall steel export decline. As a result, the medium plate export amounts to 2.19 million tonnes in Q1 up by 36% YoY from the year before.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Steel prices rise for fourth week on back of strong demand

Xinhua reported that domestic steel prices in China have been rising for the fourth week in China boosted by growing demand.

According to China Iron and Steel Association, domestic steel prices surged by almost 20% in the first quarter. The domestic steel price index rose to a record high of 142.31 points in March up by 32.51 points or 29.61% YoY from the same period last year.

CISA said the price was pushed up by high demand on the domestic market, where growth in steel output remained comparatively slow. It said a rise in fuel prices that resulted in higher production cost also contributed to surging steel prices.

Analysts said there was still a price gap of about USD 100 to USD 200 per tonne between domestic and international markets which would continue to be at play and push up the domestic steel prices in the near future.

Guangzhou Iron & Steel increases steel prices

China’s Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Group has announced to increase some of the steel price on high speed wire round bar and rebar by CNY 60 per tonne.

Current price for Q235 high speed wire with diameter 6.5mm is at about CNY 5,340 per tonne while HRB335 rebar with diameter 18mm to 25mm is priced at about CNY 5,450 per tonne.

Recession reports - China should be on alert

According to Mr Ou Minggang deputy editor in chief of Chinese Banker magazine China should still be alert to the credit crisis starting in the United States more than one year ago that has afflicted the Chinese financial sector and export.

Mr Ou told Xinhua during an interview that domestic banks and other financial institutions bear the brunt of the widespread US subprime mortgage crisis, as those agencies' asset value and book earnings would dip to some extent. He said "Currently the impact on domestic financial institutions is still limited."

Mr Ou said "The crisis also made Chinese financial supervision regulators face up to the challenges of balancing financial innovation and risks, which requires them to push forward the reforms in the country's financial system in a more cautious manner. He added that the country should increase financial transfer payments to help low-income families to consume more and boost the consumption in the vast rural areas.

The International Monetary Fund said on April 8th 2008 that the recent financial turbulence triggered by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market could cost the global financial system to the tune of USD 945 billion. IMF warned in its latest Global Financial Stability Report that "The global financial system has undoubtedly come under increasing strains since October 2007 and risks to financial stability remain elevated."

Experts suggested that Chinese exporters should upgrade their products mix and open new markets besides their traditional key markets in the United States and Europe.

Guanggang may change plans for Zhangjiang Steel Project

According to Mr Chen Jialing board chairman of Guanggang Group indicated that they would hold the brand of Guanggang but he never told anything about the recombination.

Mr Wang Ruosheng board chairman of Guangzhou Iron & Steel Ltd noted that Guanggang would change the plan of taking shares in Zhanjiang Steel Project after that Baosteel reconstruct Guanggang and Shaoguan Steel.

With the third biggest construction steel production base in China, Guanggang Group planned in 2001 to move from Nasha District from the downtown area due to environmental protection. The company hopes to increase the capacity from 1.5 million tonnes per year to 5 million tonnes per year after the moving and the capacity should be 3.4 million tonnes per year in the first phase. However, the transformation has not been completed due to kinds of reasons and Guanggang has only constructed 400,000 tonnes HDG sheet project and 1.8 million tonnes CR sheet project in Nansha District. The former project was commissioned in the year before last year and the latter project also started in the end of last year.

Mr Chen Jialing said that besides the key steel industry, Guanggang should develop other two main industries including gas and logistics in 2008. Among total business income of CNY5.9 billion in 2007, incomes of gas and logistics wereCNY387million and CNY920 million respectively and profits wereCNY80.03 million and CNY16.26 million respectively up by 53.9% YoY and 88.57%YoY respectively. He said that “The market share of gas business in South China is around 50%.”

Shigang increases high grade steel production in Q1 of 2008

It is reported that Chinese steel maker Shijiazhuang Iron and Steel Company Ltd produced 484,000 tonnes of hot metal, 495,000 tonnes of crude steel and 480,500 tonnes of finished steel during January to March 2008.

Its sale income of CNY2.27 billion went up by 43.5% YoY and revenue in creased by 36.4% YoY to CNY 286 million.

It is reported that Shigang improved the product mix during this period and increased the ratio of high value added products by focusing on production and research of high grade steel fetching price of more than CNY 6,000 per tonne or even CNY 10,000 per tonne.

During the first three months, the company had a ratio of high grade steel up to 99.05% and the ratio of alloy steel to 57.42%. Its newly developed grades including 40Cr, 20CrMn, 20G, 20CrMnTi steel won high appraises from the nation metallurgic industry and also won contracts with customers in high grade market, like automakers as Toyota of Japan and machine manufacturers as Caterpillar of USA and so on.

Ansteel 1780 HSM produces high quality carbon structural steel

It is reported that on April 28th 2008, Ansteel’s 1780 hot strip mill successfully produced high quality carbon steel grade and that its performance reached the national standards thus meeting the needs of users.

Ansteel 1780 HSM combined with the production experience from the same type of units, through strict control of the process parameters, at last successfully produced 45, 50 high quality carbon structural steel.

45, 50 steel belonging to high quality carbon structural steel, are widely used in tools etc and has great market potential.

Tiantie CRM project to commission in May

It is reported that the cold rolling mill project of Tianjin Tiantie Metallurgical Group will be completed and put into production in May 2008. As per report, the trial run of pickling line has been successfully completed.

The project is one of the 20 major industrial projects in Tianjin. It was approved on May 23rd 2005 by the National Development and Reform Commission and started on October 28th 2006.

It would have annual output of 1.5 million tonnes of cold rolled products and 600,000 tonnes of galvanized steel. Its products would be suitable for use in automobiles and home appliances segments.

When the first stage is finished and put into production, the second stage of the project will continue, including the construction of a continuous annealing line and a continuous electro galvanizing production line. It will also have galvanizing line, color coating line and cold rolled silicon line.

Jiuquan to build largest wind power base in the world

Jiuqian Development and Reform Commission said on May 4th 2008 that Jiuquan, in China’s Northwest Gansu province, has started the first step to build the world’s largest wind power station.

The latest results offered by Meteorological departments showed that the total reservation of wind energy resources is 150 million kilowatts, of which more than 40 million kilowatts can be developed, and the land area can be used is nearly 10,000 square kilometers.

Jiuquan wind power development stared in 1996, after 10 years of construction, it has built five large scale wind farms with the wind power capacity reaching 410,000 kilowatts. The future installed capacity of Jiuquan base will be 35.65 million kilowatts, and the preliminary plan is to build an installed capacity of 10.65 million kilowatts.

As per report, the construction needs investment of CNY 110 billion to CNY 120 billion, all of which are offered by developers. In order to ensure the stable operation of the transmission of electricity grids, large-scale wind power development requires a equivalent scale thermal power to balance. So Jiuquan is implementing step by step to build a coal base power station, which plans to reach an installed capacity of 13.6 kilowatts in 2020. On April 17th, matching with the 10 million kilowatts of wind power-base, an industrial park of wind power generators opened in Jiuquan. By now a few large enterprises have resided in the park and continuously invested in the wind power generators.

Coke price in Shanxi in May up by 10%

It is reported that Shanxi’s coke enterprises are increasing the products prices in May.

It is learned from coke plants in Shanxi Linfen and other region, at present, the mainstream quotation of first grade metallurgical coke is CNY 2300 per tonne to CNY 2450 tonne and the second grade metallurgical coke is about CNY 2000 per toone up by 10% compared with last month’s.

Ma Xiaoguang, the analyst from Umetal.com indicated that the rapid increase of coke price in province Shanxi is because of tight supply of coking coal. He said that “Some coking enterprises could not arrange the production at full capacity, so coke output decreases and the inventory is lower. As a result, the supply falls short of the demand in the market. Boosted by both upward and downward market, coke price surges substantially.”

Mr Liu Zhenjiang, the vice chairman of China Steel Industry Association expressed that the contradiction between supply and demand of domestic coal resources has been prominent and the supply of coking coal resources is tenser.

Linfen coke enterprises experts said that if the shortage of coking coal resources can not be alleviated, the prices of first grade metallurgical coke will further rise in the future.

Kuzmin to launch new pipe mill soon

It is reported that Estar Group’s Novosibirsk metallurgical plant named after Kuzmin is completing installation of a new 10” to 20” electric resistance welding pipe mill.

The mill is designed to weld tubes for water and gas conveyance with nominal inside diameter from 15mm to 32 mm and electric welded shaped tubes of 20mmx20mm to 40mmx20 mm and 1mm to 3.5 mm wall depth. Maximum speed of welding at the mill is 150 meter per minute.

The mill was delivered by OTO MILLS Italian firm and equipped with packing line by Mair of Italy, butt welding machine by Ideal of Germany, high frequency welding unit by Thermatool of UK.

Enakievo to rebuild BF No 3

It is reported that Ukrainian Metinvest Holding’s Yenakievsky Steel Works has begun rebuilding its No 3 blast furnace at a cost of over USD 260 million.

The modernization will nearly double the furnace’s output from 760,000 tonnes per year of pig iron to 1.2 million tonnes per year when it is commissioned in 2010.

It follows the start up of the new No 5 BF last August, which can produce 1.05 million tonnes per year after a rebuild that took four years.

As a result, for the first quarter of 2008 EMZ’s pig iron output grew by 28% compared to Q1 2007 to nearly 730,000 tonnes. Mr Alexander Podkoritov GD of EMZ said that Q1 steel production is also up by 18% in the same comparison to 780,000 tonnes. This rise is because of work completed in March to install new technologies in the converter shop and downstream casting operations.

In 2007 EMZ produced a total of 2.4 million tonnes of pig iron up by 11% on 2006 while annual steel production grew 9% to 2.8 million tonnes. Its range of long products includes beams, channels and angles.

Zlatoust to double its export by 2009

Interfax reported that Estar Group’s Chelyabinsk Region based JSC Zlatoust metallurgical plant intends to double its monthly output of exports to 10,000 tonnes in 2008.

Gurievsk output in Q1 up by 3% YoY

Interfax reported that Estar Group’s Kemerovo Region based JSC Gurievsk metallurgical plant (produced commercial products to the amount of RUB 907 million in January to March 2008 up by 3% YoY.

Gazprom to create winter gas reserves

Itar-Tass reported that the Gazprom Board of Directors has assigned its departments to draw up plans of preparing the facilities of Gazprom subsidiaries for work in conditions of the 2008 autumn and winter.

The Gazprom Board of Directors set the task of ensuring the fulfilment of maintenance and repair operations at the facilities of the United Gas Transportation Network and of creating gas reserves in underground gas storages before the beginning of the next autumn and winter period, which should be no smaller than 64 billion cubic meters.

Gazprom’s subsidiaries were assigned to ensure the fulfilment of plans and program of diagnosing, repair and rebuilding of the facilities, connected with the production, transportation, underground storage and processing of gas in 2008 as well as the fulfilment of the main operations for preparing the facilities for work in conditions of autumn and winter.

The Gazprom Board of Directors analyzed the Gazprom performance during the autumn and winter of the 2007 to 2008 period. It was pointed out that Gazprom’s subsidiaries had ensured the stable gas supply to Russian consumers, as well as gas exports.

Q1 production update from Norilsk Nickel

Norilsk Nickel production update for the Q1 2008
Total saleable metals production

In tonnes

Norilsk Nickel Polar and Kola Divisions

In tonnes

Norilsk Nickel Finland

In tonnes

Norilsk Nickel Australia

In tonnes

Norilsk Nickel Africa 4

In tonnes

Kazakhmys to triple power plant output by 2014

Reuters reported that Mining group Kazakhmys aims to triple power output by 2014 at its new Ekibastuz coal fired power plant the largest in Kazakhstan.

Mining group Kazakhmys, the world's 10th biggest copper producer said in February it would pay USD 1.5 billion to buy Ekibastuz and a nearby coalfield that supplies the power station. The acquisition will make Kazakhmys the top ranking power producer in the country with a market share of 22%.

The report added that before the takeover, the firm already had three power plants that were mainly used to supply its own mining operations. But the Kazakhstan power sector offers good commercial possibilities since demand is growing and very low tariffs are expected to rise. Demand, supported by strong industrial growth is expected to increase by 8% in 2008 and 5% to 6% a year in the long term.

Mining group Kazakhmys said increasing power capacity at Ekibastuz is expected to cost USD 650 million in capital expenditure through 2010.

Norilsk discuss opportunities in Australia

It is reported that the premier of Western Australia Hon Alan Carpenter held a meeting with the management of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel during his official six day visit to Russia.

Norilsk Nickel was represented by Mr Denis Morozov general director, Mr Tav Morgan Deputy General Director and Mr Ian Purdy MD of Norilsk Nickel Australia.

At the meeting, discussions were held relating to the Company’s current projects in Western Australia as well as its further plans regarding the development of Norilsk Nickel production assets in the region.

Mr Denis Morozov General Director of Norilsk Nickel said “We intend to strengthen our positions in Australian market by developing relationships with local government and communities with a view to long term partnership.”

Norilsk Nickel is currently the second largest producer of nickel in Australia and operates a number of assets in Western Australia. They include the Lake Johnston, Black Swan and Waterloo nickel sulfide operations, and the Norilsk Nickel Cawse laterite facility.

Kuabassrazrezugol places stocks

It is reported that FSFR registered the report on the sale of 4964000391 common stocks released by Kuzbassrazrezugol and placed through the conversion with the merger of Kuzbasstrans and Riostile.

At the merger of Kuzbasstrans 3911259341 stocks of RUB 1 par were placed whereas the Riostile merger demanded 1052741050 common stocks in the placement.

Kuzbassrazrezugol involves 12 coal pits. From September the Company is under control of UGMK Holding headed by Mr A Kozitsin. In 2006 the pits increased the coal output to 44.13 million tonnes. In 2007 46.3 million tonne were produced in 2008 the figures are assumed to exceed 49 million tonne.

Tuapse Commercial Sea Port investing for expansion

It is reported that in the first quarter 2008, the Tuapse Commercial Sea Port invested RUB 178 million in its development which is 50% plus over the last year figure.

According to the press service of the port, RUB 168 million were invested in the first stage of grain terminal complex of 2 million tonnes capacity. The complex will include a grain elevator of 103,000 tonnes capacity, a railway station and a deepwater berth to handle vessels of 50,000 DWT. It is schedule to complete the building in 2009. Besides, the port modernized the port distributive center and put into operation a new transformer sub station.

Tuapse Commercial Sea Port handled 19.6 million tonnes in 2007, including 14.1 million tonnes of oil cargoes and 5.5 million tonnes of general cargoes.

Chinese SS firms to cut down 50% output in May 2008

It is reported that since weak domestic market, China’s main stainless steel producers may cut the output down to 50% in May 2008. The suggestion was submitted in a conference. Main stainless steelworks including Baosteel, Zhangpu and Lianzhong attended the conference.

However, Mr Fu Zhongzhe GM of Baosteel indicated that stainless steel business earned profit in Q1 and Baosteel expected that the profit would increase in Q2.

Mr Zhongzhe noted that Baosteel would not cut down the output in May or June 2008. He added that "We should decide to cut down the output or not according to the relationship between supply and demand. Facing current raw materials price and market condition, stainless steel products made in Baosteel would bring profit in the whole year."

Latrobe continues production

Latrobe Specialty Steel informed customers last week that its production, finishing and delivery operations would continue unaffected by a strike by 375 hourly workers at its Latrobe based facility. The company said that it will continue to operate with supervisors and temporary workers.

Mr Hans Sack president & CEO of Latrobe said that “Latrobe Specialty Steel, facing mounting competition from foreign and domestic non-union companies, must be able to win in global markets. We must prudently manage the increasing costs affecting every phase of the business. Latrobe cannot be oblivious to global wage factors and inevitable economic cycles. We need to have a contract with the Steelworkers that will keep the company competitive for the long term.”

He said that “Latrobe has a duty to all its customers, especially to our nation’s armed forces, to protect the production and delivery of our critical products to the manufacturers of vital defense equipment. While it is unfortunate that the local union rejected the company’s offer, Latrobe Specialty Steel has made comprehensive contingency plans to maintain normal operations until the represented workers return to their jobs.’

He added that “Latrobe Specialty Steel will continue to keep its promises to its customers, suppliers, investors and its devoted employees. That means meeting our promised delivery and quality commitments.”

The walkout by Steelworkers Local Union 1537 began at midnight on May 1st after the union rejected the company’s final contract offer.

JSL welcomes recent measures by Indian government

Jindal Stainless Limited, welcoming recent moves by Mr P Chidambaram Indian finance minters for the steel industry, said that it JSL looking forward to a good growth story for the stainless steel industry and for itself in the current year, as they would help them to further reduce cost and improve margins.

Mr MC Mathur director of JSL, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, said that "2006-07 fiscal was a golden year for the entire stainless steel industry worldwide. In 2007, we have seen volatile activity in nickel prices. So, that hit the roof at USD 54 per tonne in the middle of last year and dropped dramatically by 40%. That created an inventory issue of high cost input and the customer will not like to pay. But in spite of all that, we have come out with a fairly good performance. Whatever happened till yesterday is history. We are looking forward to a good growth story for the stainless steel industry and particularly for our company in the current year."

He added that "On the forward side, we have taken steps to set-up stainless steel exclusive service centers. Two are already in operation in the North, near Mumbai and the third one is in Chennai. So, we are taking stainless steel to the doorstep of all our small and medium customers, which can’t be serviced from a tonnage plant like ours. There is good news from the railway sector. You have heard our Railway Minister talking about coaches and stainless steel wagons. So, that’s another positive for us."

He said "We will continue to import nickel. I am glad that Mr P Chidambaram announced certain measures for the steel industry. He made some of our inputs like ferronickel and ferroalloys have nil duties. So, that will also help us to further reduce our cost and improve our margins. Domestic demand is growing very encouragingly. In terms of volume, we are selling about 70% in the domestic market and 30% in exports, which used to be 55% in domestic and 44% in exports."

TISCO develops 2 new high end SS products

It is reported that Chinese SS major TISCO has recently developed new stainless steel products and filled the domestic gap.

One of the new products, super austenitic 904 L hot rolled stainless steel plate, has very good corrosion resistance, particularly in the phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid environment has an excellent comprehensive anti-corrosion property, can be widely used in chemical industry, sewage treatment and paper industries etc. At present, TISCO is the first enterprise in China that can realize batch production of super austenitic 904 L hot rolled stainless steel plate.

Another high value added stainless steel product, ultra pure ferrite stainless steel 446 also fills the domestic gap. It has good corrosion resistance, crevice corrosion resistance and sulfide corrosion resistance etc, has good prospect in the application of domestic power stations.
At present, TISCO has become the only one enterprise that can produce super austenitic, super duplex, super ferrite and super martensitic stainless steel at the same time.

Yieh Hsing to slash stainless steel wire rod prices

Taiwan’s Yieh Hsing Enterprise Company Limited has announced to lower its stainless steel wire rod prices of May 2008.

The domestic price has declined by TWD 2,000 per tonne and the export price also dropped by USD 70 per tonne.

Consequently the domestic price of 304M is at TWD 145 to TWD 150 per kilogram and 302HQ price is TWD 167 to TWD 170 per kilogram. On the other hand, the export price is quoted at USD 4,900 to USD 4,930 per ton for 304M and that is around USD 5,530 to USD 5,550 per tonne for 302HQ.

However, the prices of carbon steel wire rod increased by TWD 1,000 per ton, since CSC’s carbon steel price is expected to rise further.

China releases prohibited commodities for processing trade

China’s ministry of commerce has recently published additional prohibited commodities catalogue for the processing trade for 2008 on the basis of the catalogue released on Apr 5th 2008. Imports of stainless and alloy steel and semi finished products as well as exports of some hot rolled stainless coils are prohibited.

Prohibited commodities catalogue for the processing trade for 2008 concerning stainless steel are as follows