By Xinhua| 2018-01-04 14:24:02

China's steel output continued to grow, with prices picking up as global recovery and a firming domestic economy combined to drive up demand, according to data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).The steel price index came in at 116.62 in November, up 0.92 percentage point from the previous month, the NDRC said in an online report.In the first 11 months of 2017, crude steel production went up 5.7 percent year on year to 764.8 million tonnes, according to the NDRC.The rising output came against the backdrop of the government's persistent efforts to cut overcapacity in the bloated sector.Last year, China accomplished its plans to slash steel production capacity by around 50 million tonnes.A report from the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute predicted China's crude steel output at 832 million tonnes last year.This year, China's crude steel output is likely to edge up 0.7 percent to 838 million tonnes, according to the report.Source: www.xinhuanet.com

By pengying| 2017-12-23 13:55:26

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Thursday voiced opposition to the European Union's new anti-dumping methodology, saying it was imposing "misleading" standards for enterprises."Every country enjoys the right to choose its own development path, which should be respected by the international community," said MOC Spokesperson Gao Feng when commenting on the new EU anti-dumping methodology and its report accusing China of significant market distortion.The EU has recently released new anti-dumping rules that remove the former distinction between "market and non-market economies" for calculating dumping. Instead, the rules require the proving of the existence of a "significant market distortion" between a product's sale price and its production cost.It has also published a report on China, claiming that there were "significant distortions" within the economy."Practice has fully proven that China's socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics accords with China's reality and its economic development in the new era, and it has won positive evaluation from many other countries," Gao said."EU leaders have repeatedly expressed hopes that they want China-EU economic and trade relations to be sound and stable...which has so far maintained good momentum," he said, citing figures that bilateral trade between the two sides has climbed 12.7 percent in the Jan.-Nov period."China hopes the EU side would 'walk the talk' and guide its enterprises in a right way to truly protect China-EU trade and economic cooperation," Gao said. "China reserves its rights under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and will take necessary measures to protect its legitimate interests."Source: Xinhua

By DAVID SCUTT| 2017-11-30 13:46:26

Iron ore spot markets continued to grind higher on Wednesday with modest gains recorded across the board.According to Metal Bulletin, the price for benchmark 62% fines rose 0.1% to $67.92 a tonne, logging its fifth gain in the past six sessions.It now stands just two cents shy of the two-month high of $67.94 a tonne struck on Friday last week.Like the benchmark, both lower and higher grades eked out gains on Wednesday.The price of 58% fines rose by 0.3% to $37.83 a tonne while ore with 65% Fe content added 0,7% to $83.90 a tonne.The across-the-board gains followed another spike in Chinese rebar futures on Wednesday.The most actively traded May 2018 contract in Shanghai jumped 2.6% to 3,957 yuan. It briefly spiked to as high as 3,966 yuan, the highest level since September 14, benefiting from news that authorities in China’s Hebei Province — an industrial hub in China’s north east — have ordered steel mills to limit production between December 1 to 4 in anticipation of adverse weather conditions.According to Thomson Reuters, citing a statement from the department of Environmental Protection in Hebei, heavy smog is predicted in early December across northern provinces, leading to the decision to introduce emergency measures to help improve air quality.On top of existing production cuts that are scheduled to run through to mid-March, this latest supply disruption, coming at a time when rebar inventories held by Chinese traders are at the lowest levels in six years, helps explain why prices continue to scoot higher.The ongoing rally in steel prices helped to boost iron ore futures in Dalian with the May 2018 contract rising 2.1% to 512.50 yuan during the session.And, as seen in the scoreboard from Wednesday’s night session, futures continued to surge in overnight trade.The strength in futures points to the likelihood that spot markets will follow suit on Thursday.Trade in all commodity contracts will resume at midday AEST.Source: www.businessinsider.com.au

By PPG| 2017-11-23 11:11:22

PPG today announced that two of its paints, coatings and adhesives technologies have earned 2017 R&D 100 awards in the Mechanical Devices/Materials category. PPG’s Premium Compact Process Primer and LIQUID NAILS® FUZE*IT® All Surface adhesive received top marks according to judges for the 55th annual awards."PPG is committed to developing innovative paints, coatings and specialty materials that enable our customers to be more efficient, effective and sustainable," said David Bem, PPG vice president, science and technology, and chief technology officer. “The R&D 100 award is one of the most sought-after recognitions for innovation, and PPG is proud to utilize its broad, cross-industry expertise to develop products that provide solutions and drive an evolving marketplace forward.”The award-winning products include:PPG Premium Compact Process PrimerWhile 70 percent of the energy consumed in automotive OEM assembly plants is traditionally attributed to painting operations, the PPG Premium Compact Process Primer lowers cost, emissions and complexity by allowing the wet-on-wet-on-wet application of a primer, base coat and clearcoat, without any heated flash-off zones in between. This high solids, specially engineered primer expands the compact paint process to a wider range of vehicles than previously possible by meeting stringent appearance, performance and throughput requirements.Liquid Nails Fuze*It All Surface construction adhesiveLiquid Nails Fuze*It All Surface construction adhesive is an innovative addition to the construction industry for both professional and do-it-yourself (DIY) customers. The first-of-its-kind product with a proprietary hybrid-polymer formula takes the guesswork and uncertainty out of adhesive selection, and allows the freedom and flexibility to use a single product for a multitude of tasks. With two times the strength of fasteners alone, it bonds nearly all materials in any weather conditions, including temperatures ranging from -40 F to 300 F, and on surfaces that are dry, frozen or wet.PPG’s family of non-chrome corrosion inhibitive aerospace sealants received a R&D Special Recognition Award. PPG’s ENVIROCRON® Extreme Protection powder coating system and AUDIOGUARD® polymer damping material technology were also nominated as finalists in the R&D 100 Mechanical Devices/Materials category.In 2016, 31 percent of PPG’s total sales were derived from sustainable products and processes, such as these award-winning coatings and adhesives. PPG’s goal is to achieve 40 percent sales from sustainable products by 2020. Additional information is available in the company’s Sustainability Report.The R&D 100 Awards Committee and R&D Magazine honor the 100 most innovative technologies and services of the past year with the R&D 100 Awards. PPG has won 24 R&D 100 Awards through the years.About the R&D 100 AwardsSince 1963, the R&D 100 Awards program has identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market and celebrated the top technology products of the year. Past winners have included sophisticated testing equipment, innovative new materials, chemistry breakthroughs, biomedical products, consumer items and high-energy physics spanning industry, academia and government-sponsored research.About R&D MagazineSince its founding in 1959 as Industrial Research, R&D Magazine (www.rdmag.com) has served research scientists, engineers, and technical staff at laboratories around the world, providing timely, informative news and useful technical articles that broaden readers’ knowledge of the research and development industry and improve the quality of their work. R&D Magazine is a publication of the Advantage Business Media Science Group, with sister brands including Laboratory Equipment, Bioscience Technology, Drug Discovery & Development, Laboratory Design, Scientific Computing, and Controlled Environments.  PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™At PPG, we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 130 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $14.3 billion in 2016. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.We protect and beautify the world is a trademark and Audioguard, Envirocron and the PPG Logo are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.Fuze*It and Liquid Nails are registered trademarks of the PPG Group of Companies.Source: PPG

By REUTERS| 2017-11-08 10:09:40

Iron ore futures in China rallied to their highest in nearly six weeks on Tuesday, extending recent gains along with steel prices, although steel production curbs over winter suggest further price increases in the raw material may be limited.Chinese cities have ordered their steel mills to cut output from this month through March as part of Beijing's campaign to fight smog. Some cities, including top steelmaker Tangshan, have already enforced cuts since October.That has helped tighten steel supply in China, the world's biggest producer, pushing up prices of the building material. The utilisation rate at blast furnaces across China's mills fell to 70.99% last week, the lowest since at least 2012, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.8% at 3 753 yuan ($567) a tonne, after touching a two-week peak of 3 794 yuan.Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange jumped as far as 475 yuan per tonne, its loftiest since Sept. 28. It closed 3.2% higher at 469 yuan. Coke climbed 3.7% to 1 831 yuan a tonne and coking coal gained 2.6% to 1 185 yuan."Worsening weather conditions in northern China have resulted in more cities implementing steel mill closures," ANZ analysts said in a note."With steel output likely to fall, traders are now worried about the strain on already low inventories around the country."But a Shanghai-based iron ore trader believes the price gains in iron ore and other steelmaking ingredients may not be sustained as more mills curb output as winter approaches."My colleague just went around Tangshan last week and while some production cuts haven't happened yet, the mills already have plans to reduce output individually," the trader said.Still, stronger futures have lifted spot iron ore prices.Iron ore for delivery to China's Qingdao port soared 5.8% to $63.36 a tonne on Monday, its strongest level since Sept. 27, according to Metal Bulletin.That marked the largest single-day spike since July 31 for the spot benchmark, which has already risen more than 8% from a four-month trough reached last week. Source: Reuters

By CFM| 2017-10-26 00:00:00

On Oct. 24th, 2017 Korea Metal Week kicked off at Kinex, Seoul, South Korea. The 4-day expo includes 11 exhibitions, such as 18th Fastener & Wire Korea, 13th Die Casting & Foundry Korea, 11th Automobile & Machine Parts Korea, 17th Press & Forging Korea, 18th Tube • Pipe Korea, 5th Metal Surface Treatment & Painting Korea, 4th 3D Technology Korea, 5th SAMPE Korea 2017 & KOREA Composite Show, 3rd Aluminum Korea, 2nd Laser & Welding Korea, 1st Pump Techlology Industry Korea. Based on the introduction, the exhibition covered an area of 21384 square meters, and attracted 396 exhibitors from 26 countries to take part in the event, of which 15 were Chinese companies. Exhibitors included metal components manufacturing companies, equipment manufacturing companies, etc. relating to automotives, eletronics, architecture and other industries. What's more, during the exhibition, there were several seminars such as Global Fastener Conference 2017.Jiangsu WashenHangzhou LizhanBSCOur reporter said that products exhibited at the show were mainly bolts, nuts, formers, wire, materials, etc. On the first day, there were not so many visitors but based on the previous show, the number of visitors was expected to increase day by day and peaked on the 3rd day. Mr. Adam Prett, president of National Fastener Distributor Association and Dr. Volker Lederer were invited to the exhibition and take part in the Global Fastener Conference 2017 to discuss the fastener industry and market in North America and Europe. Photo of reporter of ChinaFastener.com (right) with the organizer (left)Based on data of Korea Customs, South Korea has imported 143 million kg from China in 2016, occupied 82.57% of the total imported fastener quantity of South Korea in 2016. We could see that China and South Korea has close trade ties in fastener industry.      As the media partner of the exhibition, reporter of Chinafastener.com came to the exhibition with the latest issue of ChinaFastener Magazine. The magazine attacted many buyers to our booth.

By Ying| 2017-10-19 11:25:15

TOKYO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kobe Steel Ltd. said Tuesday that it has been asked by the U.S. government to submit documents related to a data fabrication scandal which has engulfed Japan's third largest steelmaker.The company said in a statement that its subsidiary Kobe Steel USA, Inc. had been asked by the U.S. Justice Department to submit documents related to products sold to U.S. customers that had been subjected to data fabrication.Local media said the investigations could lead to congressional hearings in the United States as similar hearings were held regarding Tak0ata Corp.'s problematic airbags, which were blamed for more than a dozen deaths.It came to light earlier this month that Kobe Steel had fabricated data on strength and durability of some of its aluminum and copper products.The company later admitted to also falsifying inspection data on iron powder and nine other products, with affected products sold to some 500 companies globally.The misconduct ensnared a wide range of Japanese manufacturers, with problematic products used in cars, aircraft, Shinkansen bullet trains and even rockets and defense equipment.According to a survey of Teikoku Databank Ltd. released on Monday, however, the scandal is expected to affect more companies as Kobe Steel has over 6,000 business clients in Japan.Meanwhile, international corporations including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Airbus and Boeing Co. were also reportedly investigating whether they used any of affected materials.Kobe Steel Ltd. Chairman and President Hiroya Kawasaki said last week that the results of safety inspections on shipped products would be made within two weeks and details of the firm's response to products undergoing false inspection data would also be given.He added the root cause of the extensive scandal, that has affected auto giants such as Toyota, Mazda and General Motors, would also be made known within a month.The company said on Tuesday that the impact of the data falsification scandal on its earnings was still unknown.Since the scandal was revealed on Oct. 8, the company's market value has been wiped off for over 40 percent."The scandal would also impact the economy of Japan's Kansai region" where the embattled steelmaker and many of its clients are headquartered, said Masayoshi Matsumoto, head of Kansai Economic Federation on Monday.The scandal followed a series of similar improprieties recently in Japan, with Japan's Nissan Motor Co. saying earlier this month that it will recall more than 1.2 million vehicles which underwent flawed safety inspections.The scandals have cast doubts over corporate governance in the manufacturing industry and beyond in Japan, raising concerns over the quality of the "Made in Japan" brand.Source: Xinhua

By ChinaDaily| 2017-10-12 11:49:08

BEIJING - China has made better-than-expected progress in cutting overcapacity in the steel and coal sectors amid steadfast government efforts to push economic restructuring.In Hebei province, where the task in cutting overcapacity is tough, 15.72 million tons of steel production capacity and 14.08 million tons of iron were cut in the first half of this year, progressing faster than the same period last year, according to local authorities.China's steel industry has long been plagued by overcapacity. The government aims to slash steel production capacity by around 50 million tons this year.Nationwide, 85 percent of the target for excess steel capacity had been met by the end of May, through phasing out substandard steel bars and zombie companies, with Guangdong, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces already meeting the annual target, data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) showed.About 128 million tons of backward coal production capacity was forced out of the market by the end of July, reaching 85 percent of the annual target, with seven provincial-level regions exceeding the annual target.As a large number of zombie companies withdrew from the market, companies in the steel and coal sectors have improved their business performance and market expectations.Lifted by improved demand and lower supply due to government policies to cut steel overcapacity and enhance environmental protection, steel prices continued to pick up, with the domestic steel price index gaining 7.9 points from July to 112.77 in August, and increasing 37.51 points from a year earlier, according to China Iron and Steel Association (CISA)."It is unprecedented, showing that overcapacity cuts have prompted the healthy and sustainable development of the sector and improved business conditions of steel companies," said Jin Wei, head of CISA.Companies in the coal sector also gained profits. In the first half, the country's large coal companies registered total profits of 147.48 billion yuan ($22.4 billion), 140.31 billion yuan more than the same period last year, according to the NDRC.Source: ChinaDaily

By Kinsey Grant| 2017-09-21 13:21:11

Iron ore prices could fall to $53 per ton next year as the global supply glut deepens and China demand slows, Citigroup analysts said in a note Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. If Citi's prediction holds true, iron ore would drop 25% from its Wednesday morning price of $71.96 per ton next year.Growing global iron ore supplies will serve as a primary driver for a decrease in price. Analysts said Australian exports could expand 4.6% from last year and Brazilian exports could increase 5.7% during the same period.At the same time, China, which is both the world's largest producer and importer of iron ore, is on track to experience slowing industrial production as a result of the country's effort to control credit expansion and reduce excess capacity, according to Bloomberg. That could mean fewer iron ore imports.To compound slowing iron ore imports, which would increase global supplies and weigh on pricing, China's demand for steel is closing in on its peak. As steel demand reaches its top and begins to decline, demand for iron ore will likely wane, analysts wrote.China's steel output has risen 5.6% so far this year compared to the first eight months of 2016, Bloomberg data showed, reaching a record last month. As Chinese steel output reaches levels closer to strong industrialized countries, any increase in production won't change iron ore prices as it previously could have.Although iron ore prices are set to decline by many measures despite strong steel prices, MineLife analyst Gavin Wendt told Bloomberg that the current trend will likely stick around through the rest of this year.Source: www.thestreet.com

By Frik Els| 2017-09-19 10:50:48

The Northern China import price of 62% Fe content ore slumped on Friday as the country's steelmakers stoke production ahead of mandated cuts going into winter which could result in a sudden drop-off in iron ore demand.According to data supplied by The Steel Index the steelmaking raw material declined 3.4% to exchange hands for $70.90 per dry metric tonne, a seven week low. Data released by China's steel industry association yesterday showed mills produced record tonnage for a second straight month in August. China produces as much steel as the rest of the world combined.The iron ore price is still trading up by more than a third from its 2017 lows struck in July as Chinese anti-pollution crackdown on its heavy industries force the country's steelmakers to chase high quality imports and avoid domestic producers which contend with Fe content in the 20%-range.The premium paid for industry benchmark 62% iron content ore and lower grades this week hit a record high above $20 a tonne while premiums for lump ore over fines have also surged.  Chinese mills increased imports by 2.8% in August compared to the month before even with inventories at the country's  ports – mostly made up of medium and lower grade ore – not far off record highs of 140m tonnes.Year-to-date imports of high-quality iron ore from Australia, Brazil and South Africa are 6.7% higher than in 2016, already a record breaking year when imports topped one billion tonnes for the first time.But industry analysts and even some producers have been calling for a correction for months now, even for higher grades. Last month investment bank Barclays said the key signal for the end of the iron ore rally will be "the start of a new steel product inventory restocking cycle."According to Mysteel, inventories of rebar used in construction rose by 118,000 tonnes to just over 4.7m this week, the highest since early May.The build-up in steel stocks also coincides with a slowing industrial activity within the country. China's growth in factory output dipped to 6% year-on-year down from 6.4% in July  and metals-intensive infrastructure spending also slowed.Source: www.mining.com