Archive for: ‘September 2012’

Steel Market Production Changes – September 28, 2012

September 28, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

Steel Market Production Increases – Mexican steel producer AHMSA plans to finish the expansion of the Monclova integrated flats and longs mill in early 2013, which will increase capacity by 40% to 5.5 million tpy.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Xinjiang Yili Iron & Steel started the testing phase of a new 800,000 tpy bar mill this week that will contribute toward the company’s capacity goal of 2 million tpy.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Spanish steel company Alfonso Gallardo intends to shut down the Corrugados Getafe rebar mill outside of Madrid due to weak construction demand. The mill has capacity of 400,000-500,000 tpy but is presently operating at under 50% of capacity (200,000 – 205,000 tpy).

Sources: Steel Business Briefing

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September 28, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

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Lead Times Contract Across all Flat Products – HRC Hits 13-Week Low

September 27, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

HRC lead times for the week ending September 23 deteriorated to a 13-week low of 2.9 weeks from 3.1 in the previous week.

Lead times for HDG declined to a 17 week low of 5.4 weeks from last week’s 5.6, while CRC lead times fell to an 11-week low of 5.4 weeks from 6.2 in the previous week.

Sources: The Steel Index, Steel Business Briefing

Steel Market Production Changes – September 26 and 27, 2012

September 27, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

Steel Market Production Cuts – Italian steelmaker ILVA has been given a direct order to shutter the hot end at the 11 million tpy Taranto plant after the  judge denied a plan that would allow production to continue at 70% of capacity during the renovation process.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Baosteel, China’s largest steel company, halted operations at the 3 million tpy plate mill in Luojing, Shanghai to prevent further operating losses.

Steel Market Production Increases – Production will begin shortly at Mexican steel company Deacero’s new 500,000 tpy Ramos Arizpe longs mill, with the potential for capacity to eventually increase to 1.5 million tpy, adding to existing output of 3 million tpy.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Japanese rebar producer Kyoei Steel will cut production further in September and October, increasing the total cut from 30-40% to 50%.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Weiyuan Iron & Steel Company has ordered a new 650,000 tpy wire rod mill expected to come on line in 2Q 2013.

Steel Market Production Increases – Turkish steel company Izmir Demir Celik (IDC) is planning to begin test-runs of a new 400,000 tpy medium sections mill sometime in December. The new mill will increase IDC’s total finished steel capacity to 1.3 million tpy.

Steel Market Production Increases – Russian pipe maker Vyksa will begin installing three new welded pipe mills before the end of 2012, with a start-up goal of mid-2013. The new mills will replace the current four mills at the No.2 pipe shop and will increase capacity by nearly 50% to 300,000 tpy.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis

September OCTG Prices Post Largest Drop in Three Years

September 27, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

New Report Preview:

According to Pipe Logix, September OCTG prices declined for the sixth consecutive month, falling $40/ton (or 2.1%) to $1,811/ton, as seamless prices slid 2.6% for the single …more

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Chinese Steel Production Flash – Mid-September Production Declines Again to Seven-Month Low

September 26, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

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Estimated Chinese steel production declined 2.0% in mid-September to 1.857 million tonnes per day (mtpd) after a surprising 1.2% increase in early September which we …more

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Advance/Decliner Index Jumps to Six-Week High

September 26, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

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Our Advance/Decliner Index jumped to a six-week high as a surge of pricing strength drove our China Index to the highest level since August 2011. Spot hot-rolled coil (HRC) …more

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Steel Market Production Changes – September 24 and 25, 2012

September 25, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese pipe fabricator Kingland plans to construct a 200,000 tpy spiral submerged arc welded pipe mill for the production of oil and gas line pipe. This is an increase from the original plans for a 120,000 tpy mill and will add to Kingland’s current capacity of 900,000 tpy for welded pipe.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Hanzhong Iron and Steel is assembling a new 600,000 tpy wire rod mill that is scheduled to begin production in early 2013. The new mill is a complement to the 1 million tpy double-strand wire rod facility that was commissioned last month at the 3 million tpy Hanzhong steel plant.

Steel Market Production Increases – Turkish steelmaker Kardemir has ordered a new basic oxygen furnace (BOF), as well as an expansion of the two existing BOFs at the Karabuk plant that will expand total capacity from 1.3 million tpy to 3 million tpy. The new BOF is scheduled to be commissioned in September 2013.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis

August Steel Imports Drop; China Surges

September 25, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

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August preliminary imports declined 4.2% to 2.48 million tons (mt), with meaningful declines for line pipe (-32.9%), coiled plate (-27.2%), hot-rolled coil (HRC) (-25.2%) and …more

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Weekly Raw Steel Production Posts Slight Gain

September 25, 2012 Posted by Steel Market Intelligence

Weekly domestic raw steel production for the week ending September 22, 2012 increased a nominal 0.4% to 1.824 million tons (mt) from last week’s 1.817 mt, but was down 1.5% year-on-year. Production has increased just 0.7% since reaching a 10-month low of 1.811 mt two weeks ago.

We would caution readers that only half of the AISI reporting companies release their weekly production in “real time” so the other half of this data is estimated – using prior months’ reported production & operating rate. What this means is that when production is changing, the weekly data is actually understating the change.

Capacity utilization rose to 73.8% this week, slightly above last week’s 73.5% but well below the year-ago level of 75.7%.

The lowest production level since the recession began was 800,000 tons for the week of December 27, 2008, while the highest level was 2.005 mt for the week of May 12, 2012. The lowest capacity utilization rate since the recession began was 33.5% for the week of December 27, 2008; the highest was 81.1% on May 12, 2012.

Source: AISI and Steel Market Intelligence