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INDUSTRY NEWS

Monday, February 07, 2005

SSINA Releases YTD October 2004 Data

The Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) today released import, U.S. consumption, and import penetration data covering January through October 2004. Percentage comparisons refer to the YTD October 2003 ten-month period.

Following data presented by specialty steel product line, total stainless steel, and total specialty steel:

* Stainless steel sheet/strip: Imports were 340,282 tons, a 34% increase; consumption was 1,501,629 tons, a 14% increase; import penetration was 23%, a four percentage point increase.

* Stainless steel plate: Imports were 57,780 tons, a 39% increase; consumption was 242,337 tons, a 2% increase; import penetration was 24%, a six percentage point increase.

* Stainless steel bar: Imports were 66,689 tons, a 13% increase; consumption was 166,912 tons, an 8% increase; import penetration was 40%, a two percentage point increase.

* Stainless steel rod: Imports were 37,982 tons, a 24% increase; U.S. consumption was 59,387 tons, a 7% increase; import penetration was 64%, a nine percentage point increase.

* Stainless steel wire: Imports were 34,530 tons, a 22% increase; U.S. consumption and import penetration are not calculable. Imports of total stainless steel (comprising the above product lines) were 537,262 tons, a 30% increase; U.S. consumption was 1,996,913 tons, a 12% increase; import penetration was 27%, a four percentage point increase.

* Alloy tool steel: Imports were 75,478 tons, a 5% increase; U.S. consumption and import penetration are not calculable.

* Electrical steel: Imports were 69,680 tons, a 4% increase; U.S. consumption was 321,546 tons, a 3% decrease; import penetration was 22%, a two percentage point increase.

Imports of total specialty steel (stainless steel, alloy tool steel, and electrical steel) were 682,420 tons, a 24% increase; U.S. consumption was 2,377,384 tons, a 9% increase; and import penetration was 29%, a four percentage point increase.

SSINA is a Washington, DC-based trade association representing virtually all continental specialty steel producers. Specialty steels are high technology, high value stainless and other specialty alloy products.

posted by MetalPro Sales at 10:05 AM

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Rigidized Metals Corporation introduces "On-Line" Store

RIGIDIZED METALS has led the world in the production of deep textured design-strengthened metals for an endless variety of architectural and industrial applications.

Now you can purchase small quanitities of raw materials and textured metal products using a simple on-line ordering system. Visit the Rigidized Metals online store today! http://www.rigidizedstore.com

posted by MetalPro Sales at 6:58 PM

Expect high prices to continue through 2005

World stainless-steel scrap prices will stay strong in 2005 be-cause of low stocks and high demand. So says Norbert Spaeker, director of ELG Haniel in Duisburg, Germany, the world's largest scrap dealer. "We see high scrap prices in 2005 because we expect consumption to be strong, while availability will be reduced because there are virtually no stocks," he tells the Reuters News Service.

Scrap availability could rise by 5% to 8%, or 500,000 metric tons, to about
7.5 million metric tons next year, compared with 2004. However, "scrap is now almost totally coming from arisings (new scrap generated by steel production or manufacturing)," Spaeker says. "Stocks built up in 2002 and 2003 are now consumed, and there are virtually no stocks left." ELG has plants in Europe and North America and a joint venture in Japan.

European stainless scrap availability tightened in midyear because smaller yards had offloaded most of their stocks at the start of 2004, when prices peaked at around 1,200 euros per metric tons. (That's equal to $1,335 per net ton in the U.S.) Scrap prices in European Union countries are typically determined using formulas based on the previous monthly average London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel cash price.

Spaeker says market fundamentals should keep scrap prices firm, largely shielding them from the sharper volatilities of LME nickel prices. LME prices have swung wildly this year in reaction to fund buying and profit taking, fluctuating between about $10,500 per metric ton ($4.76/lb) and more than $17,000 ($7.71). Through September, LME nickel had averaged 6.23/lb ($13,735/metric ton).

"Although world availability will rise this year to about 7 million tons from 6.2 million, it will not be as much as in the previous year when it rose by 12% to 13%," Spaeker says. "Additionally, we expect production of stainless steel to rise to about 26 million tons in 2005 from about 24.3 million this year."

He dismisses any potential impact from stainless-steel producers, mostly in Asia, turning to other sources of scrap. Some Asian producers and a few in Europe and North America have increasingly sought substitute feeds as a cheaper alternative to scrap containing nickel, such as ferritic and ferromanganese grades.

However, Spaeker says austenitic, or nickel bearing, steel production dropped to 68% of total production in 2004 compared to 72% in 2003. This year he forecasts a drop to about 65%. "In some uses you can use nonnickel grades of scrap but in others, like in architectural design favored in China, you need nickel," he suggests.

Copyright C 2005 Reed Business Information. All Rights Reserved.

posted by MetalPro Sales at 4:36 PM

Nickel benefits from China's appetite.

The bullish nickel market is seen to continue with China providing increased demand for the product. Prices should remain trading in the $6-7/lbs range, but continue to be volatile. Greater stainless steel production from Korea, India, Europe and especially China will ease the global nickel demand only slightly. Huge destocking in China, substitution away for manganese and extra secondary availability have raised prices. Major delays in supply from new sources have depleted traditional mines and caused failures of the pressure acid leach technology to provide quantities needed to ease historically low nickel inventory levels.

posted by MetalPro Sales at 4:30 PM

Nickel seen cheaper as year progresses

The average cost of nickel on the London Metals Exchange (LME) should ease this year to $12,000/metric ton ($5.44/lb) due to higher production and lower consumption by stainless steel producers, forecasts Markus Moll, managing director of Steel & Metals Market Research. Also last week, a Reuters News Service poll of base metals analysts forecast average LME nickel prices to drop by about 6% to $13,850 ($5.90/lb) in 2005 from $13,000
($6.28/lb) last year.

High nickel prices have persuaded many appliance makers and other manufacturing firms to use more stainless steel with low nickel content, such as the 200 series that uses manganese as its key additive. "As a result of that, and increased nickel production from various mining/smelting projects in Canada and Cuba in the next 12 months, nickel should become cheaper," Moll says. Inco's Voisey's Bay project in Newfoundland and Labrador is due on-stream at an estimated 50,000 metric tons/year, while the Cuban government has forecast production to rise by 10% to 77,000 metric tons. China's rapidly growing stainless industry also will see one of its top producers, Baosteel, ramp production to 1 million metric tons this year from less than 800,000 metric tons in 2004. Stronger output is also expected in North America where Acerinox plans to lift production at its subsidiary North American Stainless by 11% this year to some 2.6 million metric tons.

Analysts expect this and other new nickel production to push LME prices even lower in 2006, to $10,500/metric ton ($4.76/lb).

C 2005, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

posted by MetalPro Sales at 4:21 PM

Allegheny Ludlum Introduces Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated announced that ATI Allegheny Ludlum, an Allegheny Technologies company, has introduced AL Clean(TM) fingerprint resistant stainless steel.

Norcold, a leading manufacturer of recreational vehicle refrigerators offers the first large-scale commercial application of AL Clean stainless steel.
"The AL Clean product makes stainless steel even more attractive to the appliance industry," said Terry Dunlap, President of ATI Allegheny Ludlum. "Appliances made with Allegheny Ludlum's new AL Clean fingerprint resistant stainless steel maintain the elegance of stainless steel while virtually eliminating fingerprint smudges. In addition, most kitchen stains and spills can be easily cleaned with soap and water."

"We are pleased to be the first to offer our customers this unique product," said Michael Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer Thetford Corporation/Norcold Incorporated. "This is consistent with our mission to position Norcold refrigerators as the hallmark in performance, reliability and flexibility. Our refrigerators are user-friendly and proudly made in America."
AL Clean fingerprint resistant stainless steel is also stain and scratch resistant and passes a number of standard industry tests associated with the international appliance and elevator markets. AL Clean stainless steel utilizes a continuous coating process, can be easily cleaned and is available in most stainless steel grades, such as Type 304, Type 201 and Type 316. It is offered in most gauges and finishes where end-use applications can by tailored to the customer's required gauge and gloss level.

AL Clean fingerprint resistant stainless steel maintains the formability properties of the original material. The appearance of the coating is unaffected by high-forming angles with most forming operations. In addition to appliance and kitchen equipment, potential markets for AL Clean fingerprint resistant stainless steel include architecture and infrastructure, such as elevators and escalators.

posted by MetalPro Sales at 4:13 PM

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posted by MetalPro Sales at 9:56 AM