WCA March 2011

From the americas

to their capacity at Leipsic. But steel industry analyst Charles Bradford, of Affiliated Research Group LLC (New York), was dubious. He noted that Germany’s ThyssenKrupp and Russia’s Severstal also have projects to expand their automotive capacity in the United States. “I just wonder who is going to buy all this automotive grade steel,” Mr Bradford told the Pittsburgh Business Times . Elsewhere in steel . . . Harsco Corp (Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania) has ❖ ❖ announced a 25-year joint venture with China’s Taiyuan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (TISCO). The two companies will look into environmentally sound processing andmetal recovery for the carbon steel slag byproducts of TISCO’s stainless production. According to the Harrisburg Patriot-News (10 th December),theventure–thelargestinbothcompanies’ histories – is projected to generate new revenues of $30 million per year initially; $50 million to $60 million when fully operational. The partners are expected to finalise their agreement in the first half of 2011 and begin operations in early 2012. Harsco is a global industrial services and engineered products company. TISCO’s location in Shanxi Province gives it ready access to plentiful reserves of such resources as coal, iron, bauxite and gallium. Whether the automotive industry in the US will justify the ❖ ❖ addition of steel making capacity is a matter of conjecture, but recent statistics are encouraging. Car sales ran at a 12.3 million annual pace in November, matching the October rate that was the fastest since theUSgovernment’s “Cash for Clunkers” programme of 2009. After averaging 16.8 million annually from 2000 to 2007, US sales plunged to 10.4 million in 2009, the lowest since 1982. Now, auto industry sales are recovering. The US sold about 11.5 million cars and light trucks in 2010. And IHS Inc (Englewood, Colorado), a source for automotive standards and technical information, forecasts sales of 12.8 million vehicles in 2011, rising to 17.1 million by 2015. Total light vehicle sales were up 11.1% through November, with many brands beating the trend and gaining market share. Buick was up 53.5%; Cadillac, 38%; Infiniti, 26%; and Ford, Hyundai, and Jeep were each up 23%. Hertz Corp has begun offering Daimler AG’s Smart Fortwo ❖ ❖ electric cars to New York City car-sharing customers as part of a plan to add electric and hybrid vehicles to its fleet worldwide. As reported by Richard Newman in the North Jersey Record (7 th December), the world’s largest car rental company also intends soon to offer the electric cars in Washington, DC and San Francisco. According to Mr Newman, Hertz has ordered electric vehicles from Coda Automotive (Santa Monica, California) and Nissan Motor Co, of Japan; and has agreements with General Motors Co (Detroit) and the Japanese car makers Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota Motor Corp to provide electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest rental car company in North America, said in July 2010 that it would buy 500 Nissan Leaf electric vehicles, with deliveries beginning in January 2011. Automotive

Sophia Koropeckyj, a managing director for Moody’s Analytics, told Business Week that demand from Asia and Latin America for tech products has resulted in new hiring and is contributing to the US recovery. After slumping in the first half of 2009, global shipments of PCs – the basic product of Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Apple – should rise 14.3% for 2010, to 352 million units, according to consultant Gartner. (“Tech Sector Adds 47,000 Jobs So Far in 2010,” 12 th December). As noted by Business Week ’s Olga Kharif, billions in government stimulus funds have spurredpurchasing by American agencies and businesses, such as those building out broadband networks. Networking gear maker Cisco Systems saw sales for its fiscal first quarter ended 30 th October rise 19% from a year earlier, to $10.75 billion. Corporate and government information technology spending should rise 8.1% for the year, to $758 billion, according to consultant Forrester Research. “The first wave of growth is going through,” Ms Kharif was told by Andrew Bartels, a Forrester vice-president. Prospects have been improving on the trade front, as well, ❖ ❖ with a narrowing of the US deficit with its trading partners likely to lead to a revision upward in estimates of fourth- quarter economic growth. The Commerce Department on 11 th December said that the trade gap totalled $38.7 billion in October, the lowest since January 2010. Imports declined 0.5%, to $197.4 billion, while exports rose 3.2%, to $158.7 billion, the highest level in more than a year. The increase in US exports in October reflected a rise in sales abroad of a variety of goods, among them industrial supplies andmaterials; and automotive vehicles, engines, and parts. Exports swelled to record highs with two important US trading partners. Exports to Mexico hit a high of $15.4 billion. And exports to China reached $9.3 billion, the highest on record and shrinking the US deficit with China to $25.5 billion, from $27.8 billion in September. US Steel and Kobe Steel plan $400 million auto sheet plant for Ohio United States Steel Corp (Pittsburgh) and Kobe Steel Ltd, of Japan, have said that their Pro-Tec Coating Co joint venture in Leipsic, Ohio, will build a continuous annealing line to make lightweight sheet for fuel-efficient vehicles. Construction of the 500,000 tons-per-year facility is expected to begin this year and be completed in 24 months, the companies said in December. Pro-Tec, formed by the two equal partners in 1990, has been producing hot-dipped galvanised steel sheet for auto makers since 1993, and has capacity of one million tons per year. With the addition, Pro-Tec will now also produce cold-rolled advanced high-strength steels and ultra-high-strength steels for automotive structural parts. As reported by Malia Spencer in the Pittsburgh Business Times , using coils purchased from US Steel the $400 million line will employ advanced water quench equipment as well as a rapid jet gas cooling system. (“US Steel, Kobe Steel Expanding Ohio Plant,” 2 nd December). Demand for stronger but lighter-weight steel has been rising as auto makers must strive for greater fuel efficiency while also meeting tougher structural standards. In statements, both USS and Kobe Steel professed optimism about adding Steel

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2011