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The shortage of semiconductors for auto applications continues to impact vehicle manufacturing in China but the problem is likely to ease this quarter compared with Q3, officials from the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) maintained at a press conference in Beijing held on October 19.
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China’s shipbuilding and steel industries have been promoting cooperation recently in order to better defend themselves against surging steel prices and unstable steel supply, according to a report on China’s state media CCTV on October 13.
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Chinese shipbuilders received 54.2 million deadweight tons (dwt) of new vessel orders over January-September, higher by a massive 223.3% on year, according to a new release from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on October 15.
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Japan’s core machinery orders from domestic users other than shipbuilders and power equipment makers declined by 2.4% on month in value to Yen 839.3 billion ($7.4 billion), according to a release by the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office on October 13.
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In September, China’s excavators sales at home and abroad declined on year for the fifth straight month and at a faster pace of 22.9% to 20,085 units, though it was up on month for the second month by 11.1%, according to the data released by the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) on October 12, mainly due to the waning demand domestically and high base of last year, according to market sources.
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JFE Steel, Japan’s second largest integrated mill and No.2 stainless producer, has decided to lift its prices of 400-series stainless flats by Yen 10,000/tonne ($88/t) to domestic spot and non-formula-based long-term sales in October, mainly to reflect higher ferrochrome prices, a company official confirmed on Wednesday.
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Japanese demand for carbon and special steel in ‘crude’ steel equivalent for both domestic sales and export will rise 0.8% on quarter during the present October-December period to 24.11 million tonnes, according to the latest forecast released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on October 8.
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Sales of heavy-duty trucks in China last month plunged by some 60% on year to around 60,000 units, according to a preliminary estimate released by Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World (CVWorld) on September 30. If CVWorld’s estimate proves correct, monthly sales will have fallen on year for five consecutive months, Mysteel Global notes.
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Japan’s carbon steel finished products exports in August rose by 8.9% on year to about 1.91 million tonnes, or up on year for the fourth month, according to the data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on September 30, though the monthly volume had been overall steady at around 1.9 million tonnes since June, a JISF official noted
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In September, China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for steel industry recovered from a three-month decline, up by 3.2 basis points on month to 45, though still in the contraction zone since June 2020, as domestic steel production fell but demand recovered, and steel prices increased, the official index compiler - CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee (CSLPC) - shared in the release on September 30.
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The on-year growth in Chinese automakers’ total profits already slumped to a single digit by the end of August, up 5.5% on year for the first eight months against the 19.7% on-year increase over January-July, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) pointed out in a post on September 28.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, will not produce crude steel at Kure area of Setouchi Works in western Japan anymore with the second and the also the last blast furnace shut down on September 29 as planned as part of the corporate restructuring, a company official confirmed on Wednesday.
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Domestic sales of stainless flat products including hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) coils and sheets by Japan’s 32 coil centers declined by 10.7% on month in August, according to data released by the Japan Stainless Coil Center Association (JSCA) on September 28. The fall in sales last month was mainly due to short supplies of coils and sheets from producers, rather than any weakening of demand, market sources said.
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In August, Japan’s crude steel output including carbon and special steel rose by 22.9% on year to about 7.92 million tonnes, or the sixth consecutive month with an on-year rise, though it was down 1% on month, according to the latest data from Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF), which was partially to do with low base in 2020, according to market sources.
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Nippon Steel Stainless Steel Corp (NSSC), Japan’s largest stainless producer under Nippon Steel, will lift its list prices of 300-series and 400-series wire rods by Yen 10,000-25,000/tonne ($91-229/t) for September-November domestic sales, to reflect higher costs in nickel and other raw materials, a company official confirmed on September 22.
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Over January-August, China’s production of four key electrical home appliances including air-conditioners, televisions, washing machines and refrigerators posted further slow-downs in growths or an on-year decline for television, and three of the four posted on-year declines in output for August, according to the data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on September 17.
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In August, Japan’s steel exports of all categories and all grades and forms approximated 2.92 million tonnes, up 13.7% on year but 3.5% lower on month, according to the preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on September 16, which was probably due to the delay in the shipment over heavy rainfalls last month.
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Japan’s core machinery orders from domestic users excluding shipbuilders and power equipment makers improved by 0.9% on month in value to Yen 859.7 billion ($7.86 billion), according to a release by the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office on September 15.
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Domestic prices of 400-series stainless cold-rolled (CR) sheet in Japan are showing signs of strengthening further, with distributors targeting higher offer prices, according to market sources in Tokyo and Osaka. The dealers are responding to tighter supplies and price increases tabled by the stainless mills, they said.
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Chinese shipbuilders received new vessel orders totalling 49.1 million deadweight tons (dwt) over January-August, higher by a massive 227.2% on year, according to the latest release from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on September 15. The growth was even more remarkable than the 223.2% on-year leap for the first seven months, Mysteel Global noted from the data.
