Displaying items by tag: Imports

China: The Chinese government is set to further restrict imports of metal by-products and scrap in July 2019. The latest rules will control imports of eight types of scrap metal, including copper, aluminium and steel scrap, according to Reuters. Companies that want to continue importing these items will need to apply to the environmental ministry to prove they are in compliance with environmental protection standards. Imports of iron and steel slag were banned at the end of 2018.

US: The United State Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that 15Mt of ferrous slag was produced in 2017. Blast furnace slag accounted for about 50% of the sales volume. About 85% of this value was from sales of granulated slag. Steel slag accounted for almost all of the remainder. 2.2Mt of slag was imported. Slag was processed by about 25 companies servicing active iron and steel facilities or reprocessing old slag piles at about 175 processing plants in 30 states.

The USGS reported that the supply of blast furnace slag continued to be ‘problematic’ in the US due to the closure of blast furnaces and depleted slag piles. Supply of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel slag was similarly affected due to plant closures. However, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) sales volumes have failed to match increases set by the overall US cement industry since 2010 despite positive long term trends.

China: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has banned imports of steel slag from the end of 2018. It is part of 16 scrap metal and chemical waste products, according to Reuters. A further 16 items will be banned by the end of 2019. The government’s crackdown on waste imports is part of a ‘war on pollution.’

Argentina: Holcim Argentina plans to start a slag import programme due to lack of local supply. Its sister company LG Trading, also owned by LafargeHolcim, will arrange the purchases subject to local regulations and permitting. Three ships with a capacity of 40,000t will be contracted at first to import slag from October to December 2017. Slag from the programme will be used at the cement producer’s Campana grinding plant near Buenos Aires.

South Africa: Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium has temporarily ceased steel production at its steelworks, citing working capital constraints and reduced domestic demand mainly owing to a 'significant' increase in steel imports from China.

Evraz said in a statement that it was currently communicating with its employees and it intends to resume production once adequate funding has been secured and steel trading conditions have improved to ensure the company's sustained future financial viability.

The decision to halt production at the company's iron-making division was brought about by delayed debtors payments, inadequate cash to procure the required raw materials to continue with manufacturing operations, difficulties experienced with access to funding and a continued inability to pay major creditors on time. The company added that the feeding of raw materials into the iron-making kilns had been halted to enable the furnaces to be safely drained and switched out, ready for a future start-up.

"The steel plant will be stopped and made safe once all the hot metal has been processed. The two mills will continue operating until all the available stocks have been rolled into saleable products, whereafter these operations will also be safely stopped. The plant and equipment will, for the moment, be placed on care and maintenance and prepared for future start up," said Evraz in a statement.

South Africa's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) had also recently spoken out about the difficult conditions facing local steel producers. AMSA CEO Paul O'Flaherty recently confirmed that the industry was seeking greater protection from steel imports through the implementation of a 10% ad valorem duty on such imports. Further, the sector had also called for regulations stipulating that locally-produced steel be used in public infrastructure projects.

South Africa: Steel maker Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium has reported a 21% drop in steel production for the second quarter of 2015, which ended on 30 June 2015, due to weak domestic demand and a surge of cheap Chinese imports, according to Business Day.

Evraz, which is currently in business rescue, said that hot steel production declined to 119,027t in the second quarter of 2015 from 150,510t in the first quarter of 2015. Hot steel output was 38% lower year-on-year. Vanadium slag output fell by 18% in the second quarter to 1.47Mt, mainly due to lower demand and excess supply.

"The domestic market remains under pressure as a result of poor demand further exacerbated by a surge of low price imports from China," said Evraz. During the first quarter of 2015, which ended on 31 March 2015, 488,000t of steel was imported, amounting to almost half of what was imported during all of 2014.