THE BEST OF THE GPS E-NEWSLETTER
Each month Sassda rounds up a selection of global and local market intelligence articles that are sent to our members in an easy to read package of content. They’re designed to highlight pockets of potential growth in demand for stainless steel. Here are some of the best articles from the last few issues...
COAL FEET: LIMPOPO INDUSTRIAL PARK BACKED BY CHINA DITCHES PLANS TO BUILD POWER STATION
The company overseeing the development of a proposed Chinese backed industrial park in Limpopo says it has ditched plans to build a coal power station and will instead use solar power. At a business briefing in Polokwane MMSEZ CEO Lehlogonolo Masoga said plans to build a coal-fired power plant to provide electricity for the hub’s proposed steel, coking and pig iron plants had been ditched. “Environmentalists said no. World leaders said no – [saying instead] let’s reduce our carbon footprint and stop producing energy through coal,” said Masoga. “We have abandoned that part of the project. We are now focusing on solar.”
GOOD PROSPECTS FOR STAINLESS STEEL SCRAP
So far this year has seen a mixed picture for the stainless steel and super-alloy scrap sector but, generally, recyclers continue to benefit from the global economic upturn as the pandemic eases. Even so, in Europe, according to industry insiders, the year started with lower order intakes for leading stainless steel flat producers, partly because of the continuing negative effect of the pandemic on the supply chain...
SA’S MANUFACTURING OUTPUT UP 2.5% IN EARLY 2022
Stats SA reports that South Africa’s manufacturing production increased by 2.9% in January 2022 compared with January 2021. The largest positive contributions were made by the following divisions: food and beverages (11.5% and contributing 2.5 percentage points); wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (6.8% and contributing 0.7 of a percentage point); and basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal Products and machinery (3.2% and contributing 0.6 of a percentage point)....
DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL MARKET SIZE ESTIMATED TO REACH $4.8 BILLION BY 2027
The global duplex stainless steel market size is estimated to reach US$4.8 billion by 2027. This is due to its excellent properties including stress-corrosion resistance, tensile strength, and yield strengths, which means the duplex stainless steel market is set to benefit from the boom in Construction projects in the oil and gas industry which will include pipeline, valves, tubings and construction, all of which will drive growth in the market.
EUROPEAN MILLS RAISE STEEL PRICES DUE TO SOARING ENERGY COST
The regional war between Ukraine and Russia has certainly caused the growth of energy prices in Europe, which made European steel mills have no choice other than to raise the price of their products. Meanwhile, buyers in the European market also stopped making purchases from the above mentioned two countries, as some of the buyers decided to withdraw their quotation and retard the transaction...
LONDON METALS EXCHANGE SUSPENDS NICKEL TRADING AS PRICES EXPLODE
The London Metals Exchange paused trading and cancelled orders of nickel as prices rose more than 250% in one day in March 2022, pointing to a massive increase in the price of one of the most important ingredients in stainless steel. A notice by the exchange said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “had affected the nickel market in particular”. It also said it will “consider a multiday closure, given the geopolitical situation which underlines recent price moves”. It will be interesting to track the knock on effects of this increase on the price of stainless steel...
MOZAMBIQUE GOVERNMENT ASSURES ROVUMA PRODUCTION OF LIQUEFIED GAS TO START IN OCTOBER
The Mozambican government has announced that the production of liquefied natural gas in the Rovuma basin by the Coral Sul floating platform (FLNG) moored off Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, will start by the fourth quarter of 2022.Council of Ministers spokesperson Filimão Suaze stated. “In October of this year we will have the first results in terms of production”. He also highlighted plans to train Mozambicans on board the infrastructure, one of the largest of its type in the world...
STAINLESS STEEL VANISHES INTO THIN AIR
Imagine a sculpture whose shape shifts based on the viewer’s position. Physicist-turned-sculptor Julian Voss-Andreae uses stainless steel to reflect insights from discoveries made in his former profession. His “disappearing” sculptures are a meditation on perception and reality, inspired by the study of quantum physics. Now molybdenum ensures they will never truly “disappear.”