TPT September 2011

G lobal M arketplace

in 2012, followed by the US-Canada-Mexico NAFTA partnership (demand up 6.3 per cent), Asia and Oceania (up 5.8 per cent), and Europe (up 4.4 per cent). Steel demand in China is forecast to grow 5 per cent in 2012, below that of Asia and Oceania overall. This suggests that demand in the region will be driven by other countries than China, notably India. Some highlights of the most recent World Steel Association outlook: › Over the next four years India should move up from fourth to second place among steel producing nations; › Chinese steel consumption will likely decelerate in 2011 as China tries to moderate its economic boom; › In the short term, steel demand in Japan will be lower as a result of disruption to automotive production after the earthquake and tsunami in March. But the need for reconstruction in devastated areas favours the domestic steel industry, which can expect a medium-term surge in demand; › The highly efficient and cost-effective technologies of American steel makers have lifted demand for their products in Asia and the Middle East. Elsewhere in steel . . . › To meet growing demand for steel from the automotive sector in India, Tata Steel said it will increase production of automotive grade steel by 20 per cent to 1.2 million metric tons this fiscal year. As reported in Hindu Business Line (24 June), the Indian steel maker, which supplies over 40 per cent of demand from the domestic industry, intends to continue to increase its auto steel capacity by 15 to 20 per cent annually over the next few years. With its joint-venture partner Nippon Steel, the company is also working on a new 0.6-million-mt plant to produce high strength auto steel, to be commissioned by 2013. In other news of Tata Steel, having added a new 0.3-million-mt cold rolling mill at Jamshedpur the company is increasing the capacity

of that plant from 1.5 million mt to 2.2 million mt, according to HM Nerurkar. The managing director spoke at an event held 24 June in Mumbai to celebrate Tata Steel’s appearance in the Fortune magazine list of World’s Most Admired Companies for the second consecutive year. › Writing from Rio De Janeiro in MarketWatch (18 June), Diana Kinch reported that, according to the British global investment bank Barclays Capital, by September steel producers in Brazil may have cut their prices on some flat steel grades. The mills, which had avoided announcing price increases, would be acting in response to the threat of rising imports and the excessively high inventories carried by steel distributors. Citing information from Brazil’s Steel Distributors’ Institute (INDA), Barclays noted that preliminary figures for May pointed to stocks levels equivalent to 3.7 months’ flat steel usage – higher than the 2.6 months’ level “normal” for the industry. Other metals . . . › VSMPO-AVISMA Corp (Yekaterinburg, Russia), the world’s largest titanium producer, and Alcoa, of the US, on 17 June announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for co- operation on the design and production of innovative light-alloy die forgings and extrusions for the commercial transportation market. One result of the collaboration may be the development of wide (up to 27.5") and long (up to 85ft) extrusions made of advanced aluminium alloys designed for passenger and freight cars, including next-generation high-speed rail in Russia. VSMPO-AVISMA, whose global presence includes facilities in Ukraine, Britain, Switzerland, Germany and the US, does considerable business with Boeing and Airbus and other aerospace companies. As well as titanium, the Russian company produces aluminium, magnesium and steel alloys. Pittsburgh-based Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminium, first entered Russia in 1993. In 2005 it acquired two fabricating facilities in Samara and Belaya Kalitva. Since then, Alcoa has invested over

$750mn to upgrade its Russian facilities. Dorothy Fabian , Features Editor (USA)

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