TPT September 2011

G lobal M arketplace › It is estimated that the presence of Shanghai VW in Yizheng will mean the addition of 6,000 assembly jobs and 10,000 jobs with suppliers of components. By 2015, Yizheng is expected to be a $61.5bn economy, with a centre-city population having grown from 200,000 to 300,000. Industrialists attracted by the possibilities offered by Yizheng are already latecomers. After the announcement that Shanghai VW was moving in, property values in the city jumped from $123,000 per Chinese mu to $185,000-$230,000 per mu. “Even at these higher prices, though,” wrote Mr Perkowski, “Yizheng is still cheaper than its neighbor Nanjing.” › Even as Volkswagen pursues its overseas prospects, it has benefited from a sales rebound in its German home market as Europe’s largest economy continues to grow. In May the VW Group recorded a 16 per cent sales increase over its European total for April, raising its market share in Europe to 23.9 per cent. The other leader of the recovery in European car sales was BMW, also German, which recorded a 22 per cent sales advance in May. As reported 17 June by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the previous month saw the strongest sales by its members since March 2010. May was also a good month in European sales for two American car makers: General Motors Co rose 16 per cent; Ford Motor Co, 9.7 per cent. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp and Renault SA, of France, fared less well in Europe, reporting sales declines for the month of 9.5 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.

Steel The World Steel Association sees a steady increase in production on the back of a moderate rise in demand According to the World Steel Association (WSA), last year China and Japan retained their first- and second-place positions in steel production, with output of 626.7mn metric tons (MT) and 109.6 MT, respectively. The US (at 80.5 MT) came third, followed by India (68.3 MT). Even with 6.9 MT of additional production in 2010, Russia closed the year in fifth place with output of 66.9 MT of steel. All five of the top steel making companies of 2009 retained their positions last year. They are ArcelorMittal, of Luxembourg (98.2 MT of steel in 2010); China’s Baosteel (37 MT) Korea’s Posco (35.4 MT); and Nippon Steel (35.4 MT) and JFE (31 MT), both Japanese. Their cumulative contribution was 236.7 MT of the global total. The Brussels-based WSA represents some 180 steel producers, including 18 of the world’s 20 largest steel companies, and its members account for around 85 per cent of global steel production. The organisation’s data, gathered from the 65 nations that produce 98 per cent of the world’s steel, place total global output in 2010 at 1,413.5 MT, up from 1,230.9 MT in 2009. The WSA is forecasting all regions to see stronger steel demand in 2012, with the largest gains posted by Africa (up 9.1 per cent), the CIS group of former Soviet republics (up 8.9 per cent), and Central and South America (up 8.3 per cent). Demand in the Middle East is expected to rise 7.3 per cent

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S eptember 2011

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