IANS reported that ArcelorMittal is facing the heat in its land acquisition plans for its Greenfield steel project in Torpa block of Khuti district in Jharkhand. The project needs around 11,000 acres of land, of which 8,800 acres is required to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant and 2,400 acres for establishing a township.

As per report, an organization opposing the land acquisition called Adivasi Malvasi Astitva Raksha Manch launched a campaign against ArcelorMittal's steel project early this week and around 15,000 pamphlets were distributed among the villagers at the start.

Ms Dayamani Barla a member of AMARM said that "Farmers need food grains not steel. We are strengthening the voice of villagers. Pamphlets are being distributed to make people aware of the move of the state government. The state government should immediately stop land acquisition."

The pamphlets say land acquisition is wrong as tribal land cannot be transferred to non tribals. Also, agricultural land cannot be acquired for industrialization, it claims. It also cites examples of land acquisition in which tribes were deprived of their rights.

Torpa is the same block where the 700 MW Koel Karo hydel project was mooted some 35 years ago but the project could not see the light of day due to opposition by the villagers, who were supported by some NGOs.

A steel user, however big or small, is always concerned about steel buying as it is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices, which in a big way decided their bottom line. Lastly, steel has been very volatile in last 6 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

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This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

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Steel Insights reported that high power tariffs and non availability of high grade coking coal are two of the main problems plaguing the bulk ferroalloy industry. High grade coking coal is required to manufacture coke which is used as a reducing agent in producing ferroalloys.

While the above mentioned issues cut across various industries, a third reason which has resulted in the slowdown of production is the shortage of manganese ore.

The unprecedented rise in prices of ferroalloys in the last year has been driven largely by the shortage of ore in the market. However, according to industry experts, the situation is likely to get corrected this year mainly because such a sharp rise is not sustainable over a long period of time.

Logistics too is a matter of concern for alloy manufacturers who need to move their raw materials by railway wagons. The scarcity of these wagons often leads to unwanted delays in production. In addition to this, freight rates are also very high which leads to lesser competitiveness.

Despite all these hindrances, the industry is on a growth path with newer units coming up and the older ones doubling their capacities.

Ferromanganese
As far as ferromanganese producers are concerned, some of them have found a way to dodge the scarcity of high grade manganese ore which is required to produce ferromanganese. They have shifted to lower grade ore which is used to produce lower grade silicomanganese.

During 2006-07, the manganese alloy industry produced 1.02 million tonnes of high carbon, medium carbon and low carbon ferromanganese and silicomanganese. To produce this volume the industry would have ideally procured 2.25 million tonnes of manganese ore, approximately.

Imports have also played a pivotal role in catering to the manganese alloy producing units. That is because India's largest ore producer, Manganese Ore India Ltd takes care of only 50% of the total requirement. Keeping this in mind, it was recommended that exports of the ore should be curtailed or stopped in order to make it available to the domestic ferromanganese producers, so that they in turn can facilitate the production of steel.

Ferrochrome industry
Ferro chrome too is not in a comfortable zone. In fact, the ferrochrome industry association has requested the government to direct the Indian Bureau of Mines to undertake the exploration of chrome ore reserves beyond 100 meters depth, so that greater volumes of chrome ore can be produced. This would ease the pressure on the ferrochrome producing units.

It was also recommended that the export duty on chrome ore be increased so that the domestic alloy manufacturers do not have to bear the brunt by paying higher prices and suffer due to non availability of the raw material.

However despite all these problems, the ferroalloy units did exceedingly well in 2007-08. Their profits reached record levels with prices rising by more than 100%.

Project monitor reported that TATA Motors' decision to relocate the INR 2,700 crore Nano car project from the controversial Singur site to Gujarat is in many ways, significant for both Gujarat and TATA Motors. For the automobile maker it will be the first exposure in Gujarat and for the state, it would be a big boost to its automobile sector.

For Gujarat the Nano plant will be a tremendous boost to its automobile industry. Though it is home to a prolific ancillary industry, the western state currently does not have much automobile making capacity. Gujarat will now join the league of states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh that have traditionally been destinations for large automobile plants.

The Gujarat government allotted 1,100 acres of land, the entire requirement, apart from matching the fiscal concessions provided by the West Bengal government.

The Nano plant together with the vendor park is expected to create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. The logistics business in Gujarat including private ports also stands to benefit tremendously from Nano. There are reports that TATA Motors might set up a dedicated car terminal for the Nano at the Mundra port of the Adani Group or the upcoming Dholera port promoted by the JK Group.

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative steel price scenario in India, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis.

Steel prices being an issue at the forefront in the context of inflation, drawing significant government attention, making up for about 4 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index(WPI), has been media's most favorite and hot topic at the moment. Unfortunately, the facts are misrepresented very often due to complexity in the structure and the dynamics of the steel market, leaving the users of the information mostly in a state of confusion.

In order to provide an index for steel prices, we call it SENSEX for steel, SteelGuru.com decided to work on both long products and flat products for respective category indices as also a composite one for steel. We call them ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI and have started releasing these indices with effect from July 1st 2008, after taking June 30th 2008 as base.

ILPPI is based on daily market prices of three benchmark products rebars, wire rod and sections in 4 metros, whereas IFPPI is based on HRC, plates, CR and HDG. These indices have been built considering their respective weights in the composite categories as also in the shares of sales in the regional markets.

The pricing input is from www.steelprices-india.com, which publishes market transaction prices of benchmark products among select locations 5 days a week.

These price indices outline the way domestic steel market is moving day by day and will help producers, agents in the supply chain, steel buyers, bankers and analysts in their respective businesses.

To know more, please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

ET reported that about 2,500 employees of Reliance Industries working at its plants here will go on strike on October 24 demanding a hike in INR 33,000 bonus offered.

As per report all three labor unions affiliated with AITUC, INTUC and BMS have given notice to the management of the company and labor commissioner in this regard.

Before merger of government owned IPCL with Reliance in April 2007, they were employees of the government-owned IPCL.

Union leaders said RIL's bonus offer of INR 33,000 was not acceptable to them. Last year it was INR 40,000. They also questioned the wisdom of RIL management on fixing different amounts of bonus for employees working in plants located in different parts of the country.

Union leaders said that RIL's profit is more than INR 11,000 crore. The leaders' said the company management failed to provide them production data-sheet and computation sheet despite repeated demand. They said that these demands were raised in a meeting between local management of the company and union leaders on October 16.

The workers have requested RIL management not to deposit any bonus money into their accounts without reaching a compromise.

The leaders added that about 1,500 workers of Maharashtra Gas Cracker Complex of IPCL at Nagothana, mergered with RIL, have also expressed their dissatisfaction for bonus amount.

Steel Insights reported that the Indian Refractory Makers' Association plagued by dipping profits has requested for a price escalation clause from the steel industry which is its major consuming sector.

IRMA has taken this step after refractory makers were struggling with soaring raw material costs as well as fuel prices. Mr Arup Kumar Chattopadhyay chairman of IRMA told Steel Insights that he has already met the Durgapur Steel Plant as well as other SAIL and RINL officials twice in this regard. It is the turn of the steel companies now to take a decision.

Mr Chattopadhyay said that the price escalation clause will definitely benefit the industry and help them to get a justified price for their finished products. Fixing an appropriate price is impossible owing to the instability in raw material prices. He added that however if the price variation clause is in place, it may be possible to adjust prices during the contract period.

Mr SG Rajgarhia MD of Orient Abrasive told Steel Insights that refractory makers usually get into annual contracts and thus, any price hike in raw materials during the contract period hampers the company.

As per report, prices of raw materials imported from China are pegged on a shipment basis and are highly unstable. Thus, there is always a big difference between refractory prices when the company settles a contract and when the product is delivered. Refractory companies suffer because of this volatility. It is therefore believed that incorporation of such a clause is now a necessity. However some industry experts are skeptical as they feel enforcing such a clause can be quite difficult.

ET reported that Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Co will make next generation March model at its Orgadam plant near here, built in partnership with French car maker Renault.

A top official said that the joint venture company Renault Nissan Automotive India Ltd is investing around INR 40 billion (USD 833 million) in the plant, which has a total capacity of 400,000 units.

Mr Shouhei Kimura MD of RNAI told reporters that "We will roll out the small car from our Chennai plant while the plant in Thailand is the mother unit for that model.”

He said that construction work was progressing at the plant site. The foundation for stamping unit and paint shop has been laid. Excavation work for constructing other units are on.

According to him, around 50 vendors will set up their operations near the car plant, including some overseas companies like Unipress Sheet Metal Press.
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Nissan Motor India Ltd has tied up with Hover Automotive India Ltd to take care of the car distribution in the country. The company plans to have 55 dealers by 2012.

Expected to start commercial production by 2010, Nissan plans to ship out 110,000 cars, primarily to Europe from 2011 through the Ennore port.

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It is reported that Mahanadi is all set to come under critical pressure as far as water needs of upcoming industries in the state are concerned. As much as 514.499 million gallon per day water was either allocated or recommended from the Mahanadi River basin.

According to sources in the government, the upcoming industries would require water to the volume of 2,502.95 cubic seconds or 1,367.61 million gallon per day water which is 6 times of the present water consumption by industries. While 774.553 million gallon per day water is already allocated or recommended, proposal for 514.499 million gallon per day is under consideration.

Similarly some 264.66 million gallon per day water from the Brahmani was earmarked for industries. Brahmani had been satisfying 65% needs of industrial water in the state.

The report added that some of the major industrial projects that would depend on the Mahanadi include South Korean steel major POSCO’s proposed steel facility near Paradip, Vedanta Alumina Limited’s smelter plant at Jharsuguda, Hindalco’s smelter at Sambalpur and Indian Oil Corporation’s proposed refinery unit at Paradip.

As many as 70 industries were allocated water from the river basins such as Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Kolab and Rushikulya. About 77 industries and mining projects had forwarded their proposals to secure water supply from different rivers. The State had created over 7 big dams, 37 medium and 2,341 small dams.

Again 64% of industrial units were relying on groundwater. Of the 225 industrial units, 145 were sourcing underground water, while the rest were drawing water from reservoirs, rivers and canals meant for irrigation purpose.

It was estimated that the volume of allocated water would be more than 3 times the volume of water consumed by various industries, now when the proposal for water pending was more than two times the present consumption.

BL reported that at a time when all eyes are fixed on the sharp depreciation of the rupee with dollar and its possible negative impact on the foreign exchange loan exposure of the Indian corporate sector, Indian Oil is rejoicing at the ‘natural’ risk cover it enjoys due to dollar denominated product pricing.

According to sources, IOC’s USD 3 billion foreign currency loan portfolio will witness a sharp increase in interest outgo to about INR 800 crore to INR 900 crore in the July to September quarter 2008. This is due to the 15% depreciation of the rupee to INR 46.45 a dollar compared to the corresponding period of 2007.

However in the final analysis the company expects to gain on foreign currency movements due to higher valuation of refining margin and that of the product inventory.

A senior IOC official said that “We do not take any exchange risk cover on our foreign exchange borrowings as our inventory value much exceeds our foreign currency borrowings adding that the cover is actually provided by its product inventory.”

He however added that the entire benefit might not be attributed in the second quarter results. Similarly the rupee depreciation also eased out pressure of reasonably thinner refining margin during the Q2.

As per report, the company has foreign currency borrowings of about USD 3 billion. The source said that “Since oil products are priced higher than crude, this inventory enjoys higher valuation whenever rupee depreciates, thereby providing us a natural cover.”

BL reported that strong turnout by the US nuclear industry is on the cards at the ‘Green India Summit’ being organized by the US-India Business Council and CII in Washington with reactor majors GE and Westinghouse Electric along with Bechtel, USEC, Thorium Power, BWXT and Shaw Group among the nuclear biggies set to attend the event.

The Summit which comes close on the heels of the signing into law of the US-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative is being seen as a precursor to an official US nuclear trade delegation coming to India shortly to step up engagements.

As per report, the event is set to be attended by Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia Planning Commission Deputy chairperson and Mr Sushilkumar Shinde Power Minister.

Mr Ted Jones a spokesperson for Green India Summit said that “GE, Westinghouse, Bechtel, USEC, Thorium Power, BWXT and Shaw Group will be attending among others.”

Mr Carlos Gutierrez US secretary of commerce who is to participate in the event is also likely to announce an upcoming civil nuclear trade mission to India, which is expected to take place before year end.

The USIBC-CII ‘Green India’ Initiative is aimed at highlighting the challenges and opportunities relating to India’s infrastructure up gradation plans and the summit would examine the opening of India’s civilian nuclear energy sector and the potential for investments. Among the key sponsors of the summit is Nuclear Energy Institute, which is apex policy making body of the America’s nuclear companies. GE is also a sponsor of the event.

USIBC represents some of the top 300 US companies who are carrying business in India or are interested in entering the emerging Indian market.

According to ASSOCHAM survey, due to meltdown in Indian economy and its aftereffects leading to higher input costs and credit access virtually getting out of hands of large corporate’s of turnover of over INR 5,000 crore have brought 68% of CEO’s a complete restlessness in fulfilling their commitments in last 9 to 10 months.

Only a minor lot of 32% of CEO of domestic business with the given turnover bracket succeed in countering their resistiveness and fatigue in a bid to achieve their yearly targets in the context of current severe business constrains, adds the ASSOCHAM survey on Current Business Scenario If Causing Stress to CEO’s in which views of 400 business tycoons participated.

According to it, 68% CEOs continue to reel under tremendous stress and fatigue as a result of current meltdown and slog to deliver desired results in limited time at their disposal and make adjustments both on margins of their top line and bottom line profitability.

The survey in which of 400 CEOs of public and private sector companies having affiliation with the Chamber, 128 CEOs responded that they get rid off their stress successfully through yoga, gym, sports such as golf and cycling, music and morning stroll.

Mr Sajjan Jindal President of ASSOCHAM said that the CEOs in the age group of 50 to 65, who take time off in morning for Yogic performance recommend that they be emulated by others on this to keep good health to deliver as per expectations of the organizations. This age group was also preferred to play golf, visiting nearby hill stations & safari parks to overcome their day to day stress and fatigue.

The survey also revealed that younger CEOs having age group of 30 to 45 are very health conscious compare to those that are in the age group of 50 to 65. CEOs in the younger age group generally prefer to go to Gym, generally and even resort to cycling. Going to gym motivates and inspires them to take on pressures and better encounter stress and fatigue, emphasized the 52% of younger CEOs that participated in ASSOCHAM survey.

Over 68% CEO responded that the present day generate lot of pressures to achieve the ambitious targets especially when the global economy is facing financial crises and its impact on Indian economy has become amply visible, said that doing business as per organizational expectations have severely affected their daily routine in adverse manner and health also.

Dr Thiru TR Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport and highways has said that the union government is committed to improve the infrastructure of the country to meet the growing needs of the economy.

Mr Baalu presiding over the signing ceremony of the MoU between the Ennore Port Ltd and Nissan Motor Pvt Ltd for export of Cars through Ennore Port in Chennai said that that the country’s economy is poised to take a great leap and to give the economy a big boost, Government has planned to give an impetus to infrastructure development.

He said that over INR 20,00,000 crore would be invested during the five years of 11th five year plan for the infrastructure development out of a total investment of over INR 36,00,000 crore which is 56.4% of the total investment.

Mr Baalu said that the Department of Shipping has launched the National Maritime Development Policy, which has put the port sector in India in an overdrive mode during the past 4 years. He said that the capacity of major ports stood at 384.5 million tonnes in March 2004 and it has leaped forward to 532 million tonnes as on March 2008, representing a 36% growth in capacity in the last four years. Likewise, the traffic through the major ports went up from 344.79 million tonnes in 2003-04 to 519.23 million tonnes in 2007-08, registering an impressive growth of 51%.

He informed that the NMDP comprises of 387 projects involving a total investment of INR 100,339 crores (approximately USD 21 billion). Out of this, INR 55,804 crores (approximately USD 12 billion) is for the Port sector and the balance INR 44,535 crores (approximately USD 9 billion) is for the Shipping and Inland Waterway Transport sectors with the target of completion by 2011-12.

My Iris reported that Mumbai based Gujarat Pipapav Port developer and operator of Port Pipavav India’s first private sector port having multi cargo and multi user operations is entering into capital market with a public issue of equity shares of INR 10 each for cash at a price aggregating to INR 5,000 million to be decided through a 100% book building process.

The issue includes a preferential allotment to APM Terminals Mauritius of equity shares aggregating to INR 50 million which shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to eligible employees, subject to valid bids being received at or above the issue price. Additionally, a minimum of 2 million securities shall be offered to the public and the size of the issue shall aggregate at least INR 1,000 million.

Gujarat Pipapav Port has filed a draft red herring prospectus with Securities and Exchange Board of India. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

The port intends to utilize the funds for their expansion plans. This includes construction of container yards and allied facilities at Port Pipavav phase 2 of capital dredging at Port Pipavav, purchase of post panamax quay cranes, purchase of rubber tyred gantry cranes. The proceeds would also be used for meeting the genera corporate purposes and for repayment of sponsor support loan to their promoter, APMT Mauritius.

IDFC-SSKI Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and Karvy Computer share are helping the company in the process of raising funds from the market. Of the total equity float at least 60% of the issue shall be allocated on a proportionate basis to qualified institutional bidders including 5% of the QIB portion that would be especially reserved for mutual funds. Mutual funds bidders shall also be eligible for proportionate allocation under the balance available for QIBs.

Further not less than 10% of the net issue shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to non-institutional bidders and not less than 30% of the net issue shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to retail individual bidders, subject to valid bids being received at or above the issue price.

Promoted by APM Terminals, Gujarat Pipapav Port is the developer and operator of Port Pipavav, India’s first private sector port which has multi cargo and multi user operations. The company has the exclusive right to develop and operate Port Pipavav and related facilities until September 2028 pursuant to the Concession Agreement with Gujarat Maritime Board and the GoG.

BL reported that Kochi Port has invited expressions of interest from firms for the use of the spare capacity of the Cochin Oil Terminal as multi-liquid cargo jetty for loading/unloading of crude oil, petroleum products and other liquefied gas cargo.

According to port officials, EoI can be submitted by a petroleum refinery, Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants marketing company, petroleum product trading company, other liquefied cargo trading company, shipping company handling liquid bulk cargo or importer and exporter of other liquid or liquefied gas cargo for utilizing the spare capacity at COT through an agreement consistent with the exiting policy guidelines of the Union Government.

The existing facility at COT, with estimated spare capacity of 75 per cent of the available berth and 10 million tonnes a year cargo handling capacity, is underutilised after the commissioning of the Single Point Mooring by BPCL-Kochi Refinery in December 2007. The port, therefore, proposed to offer the spare capacity of COT to other interested potential users.

COT, an offshore terminal, is capable of handling 11,500 DWT tankers with a draft of 12.5 meters. The terminal, with a deep draft jetty, is currently used by BPCL-KR for receiving crude oil tankers. In addition to this, oil refining companies are also loading/unloading petroleum products through the terminal facility.

Mr Thiru T R Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport and highways has received from Mr S Hajara CMD of Shipping Corporation of India a cheque for the final dividend of 40% declared by the Company for the Financial Year 2007-08, amounting to INR 90,47,68,920/.

This is in addition to Interim Dividend of 45% amounting to INR 101,78,65,035 paid earlier, thus making a total amount of dividend paid to the Government of IRN 192,26,33,955.

This dividend amount reflects the earnings on the 80.12% shareholding of the Government of India in the SCI. It may be recalled that SCI has declared a net profit of IRN 814 Crore for the financial year 2007-08.

The Shipping Corporation of India, which has recently been granted the coveted Navratna status, is one of the undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and is the largest shipping company in India, owning a fleet of 78 vessels of deadweight of 4.72 million tonnes, (comprising 38 tankers, 20 bulk carriers, 10 offshore vessels, 3 liner vessels, 3 chemical carriers, 2 LPG/ Ammonia carriers and 2 passenger carriers) which represent about 32% of India’s tonnage. In addition, SCI also manages 50 vessels on behalf of ONGC and other Government departments.

Project Today reported that Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has given its approval for financial bids for Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co's INR 1,600 MW (2x800 MW) coal based power unit on BOO basis at Dhopave near Guhagar-Dabhol in Rantnagiri district of Maharashtra.

TATA Power, Reliance Power, Lanco, Essar, GMR and Jindal have evinced interest in the project. The process of finalising the bidder and giving the LoI by December 2008. The power plant will have two units of 800 MW each and will be fuelled by imported coal.

Currently land acquisition process and procedure of environment clearance is underway.

It is reported that in order to speed up the national highways project, National Highways Authority of India plans to invite bids for 23 projects worth INR 30,000 crore under NHDP (Phase III), by December 2008.

NHDP (Phase III) has a total of 44 projects, which have been divided into two lots comprising 21 projects worth around INR 20,000 crore by November 2008. All these projects are a part of the 53 projects that NHAI has put on block for bidding. The nine other projects to be bidded out are from Phase V and are currently under evaluation.

Incidentally, two stretches under the first lot of Phase III, namely the INR 1,300 crore Ghaziabad-Aligarh projects and the INR 700 crore Amritsar-Pathankot project, for which final bidding was to take place on 06 and 13 of October have been delayed. Both the projects have been extended till November 2008.

In another move, NHAI has increased the cost of bidding from INR 50,000 to INR 1 million for all the 23 projects in the second lot of Phase III.

Project Today reported that Ruias owned Essar Oil has started reviving its petrol pumps and has re opened 300-350 petrol and diesel sale outlets in western and southern India, but rival of Reliance Industries is yet to act.

Essar Oil by May 2005 had set up 1,250 petrol pumps in the country and together with Reliance Industries' has opened 1,490 outlets. However, as the company was not able to match the price offered by public sector companies who got subsidies from the government, it decided to freeze our retail plans in May 2005.

It is reported that the Baltic Dry Index, a benchmark for global freight costs, plunged 10.7% to 1,615 points, its lowest level since February 2003. The index has fallen 49.8% since the end of September amid weakening demand.

The average daily cost for the largest dry bulk vessels and used mostly to ship iron ore from Brazil and Australia to China sunk 28.9%, its largest daily fall in a decade, to just USD 13,070 a day. The rate has collapsed 94.4% since it hit an all time high of USD 233,988 a day in early June 2008.

The index's latest fall follows several weeks when the short term spot market on which the index is based has seen very little activity because of the current difficulty in arranging letters of credit, a key trade finance instrument.

Mr Steve Rodley director of London based shipping hedge fund Global Maritime Investments said that some vessels were anchoring, waiting for better times, while some shipping companies were thinking about scrapping their older vessels. He added that "The whole shipping market has crashed. But the biggest ships are suffering particularly."

Shipowners are suffering from banks' reluctance to issue letters of credit, normally straightforward instruments used to assure a shipper of payment for a cargo after it is loaded on to a ship, but before the buyer receives it.

It is reported that ArcelorMittal Poland has stopped two blast furnaces at ArcelorMittal Krakow and ArcelorMittal Dabrowa Gornicza in October 2008 to do some repairs.

An official said that although the shutdown had been planned for late 2009 or early 2010, the company has decided to put the date forward in view of a weak demand in the European market for long and flat products.

ArcelorMittal Krakow has idled a blast furnace, one of the two existing ones with a total capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per year. ArcelorMittal Dabrowa Gornicza has put out of operation one of its three BFs with a total capacity of 4.4 million tonnes per year. Their capacity is not to change after repairs and the furnaces will resume pig iron production in Q2, 2009.

According to the company, total pig iron production will reduce by 15% due to the idle period. For reference, in 2007, Krakow and Dabrowa Gornicza produced 1.85 million tonnes and 3.96 million tonnes, respectively.

Krakow operates a steel complex of 2.6 million tonnes per year designed capacity and focuses on production of HR flats at 1.3 million tonnes per year, CR products at 795,000 tonnes per year and galvanized steel products at 305,000 tonnes per year. Dabrowa Gornicza has a 5 million tonnes per year steel complex and two bar rolling mills with a 1.89 million tonnes per year total capacity.

Analysts said that cutback of steel production, which is taken by many producers in China amid the constant price fall, may not hold on the price in the long term, but carrying out industrial structure adjustment and backward capacity elimination could give the industry a boost to prosperity.

According to figures of the market operation dept under Ministry of Commerce, by October 12th 2008, China's steel prices went down by 6.2% MoM, with 20mm*1.2mm welded pipe, 1mm CR sheet and 3mm HR sheet falling 11.9%, 9.1% and 8.4% respectively. The poor market sentiment, shrinking transaction, heavy stock pressure at the traders' and waning demand at home and broad jointly dragged the steel price down, while the lingering fuel and materials price drops prick it up.

Squeezed by heavy pressure, many steelmakers such as Hebei Steel, Shougang, Shandong Steel Group, Anyang Steel had declared to cut 20% of their outputs, while Baosteel is also reportedly preparing to scale the stocks down, alongside other mills' similar cutback moves by Maanshan Steel, Hangzhou Steel, Pingxiang Steel and Fujian Sanmin Steel etc.

Not only in China, overseas steel producers also joined the club to cut output. Russia's MMK said to slash 15%, Severstal to scissor the yield in Russia by 25%, in US and Europe by 30%. The world top maker ArcelorMittal also decided to axe Q4 production by 15% at the most, mainly for long products.

The cutbacks are mainly attributed to two points, first, in midst of slack demand, the steel prices have fallen sharply to close to the cost line, so more productions may inflict bigger losses, second, the inventory has stayed high and further outputs would worsen the oversupply and negatively impact on the price rebound.

Cutback of the outputs is believed to hold back supply and deliver a positive signal on the market, additionally, it would alleviate conflicts between the producers and traders, who have bore much financial stress in the recent three months.

Unlike food, steel prices may not be pulled up by lessening supply. Against the backdrop of unsound economy, consumers can reduce demand for industrial products such as automobile and home appliance. What's more striking amid the price falls are industry surplus, improper product mix, backward capacity and problems of this sort.

The statistics showed, cumulative steel product output in China came to 399,820t during January to August 2008 period, up by 10.1% YoY, 14 percentage points down than the comparable figure in 2007, in August 2008 alone, the output lost 6.3% MoM or down by 0.2% YoY. Nevertheless, the investment has kept vigorous, citing 28.2% YoY growth for completed investment in ferrous metal smelting and rolling industry in January to July 2008, 19 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

Analysts said that under such circumstances, reshuffle and consolidation are believed inevitable for the sector. Take this chance; China's steel industry should fasten the steps of backward capacity elimination and industrial structure adjustment in an attempt to bring it in full, real flourish.

It is reported that Japanese integrated steel makers apparently got more than USD 1,000 per tonne higher export price for grain oriented electrical steel from heavy electric machinery makers in USA, Europe and China for 2009 shipment compared with 2008.

The steel makers improve the relative lower price level under expanding energy related demand along with covering higher cost for iron ore and raw materials.

It is reported that Argentina’s Ternium Siderar, part of Argentinean Italian Techint Group, is planning to expand the capacities of its San Nicolas plant from 3.5 million tonnes per annum to 4 million tonnes per annum, semis capacity from 2.8 million tonnes per annum to 4 million tonnes per annum, hot rolling capacity from 2.8 million tonnes per annum to 2.9 million tonnes per annum. Investment into the project is preliminarily estimated at about USD 400 million. The start of implementation is scheduled for early 2009.

Within the project of steelmaking shop capacity expansion, the company will modernize the two existing 200 tonnes converters, install the second ladle furnace 1.2 million tonnes per annum and slab conticaster of the same capacity.

At this moment, the melt shop at San Nicola is equipped with two converters, a ladle furnace with 2.8 million tonnes per annum and two strand continuous slab caster of the same capacity. A source in the company’s office said that in 2007 the company produced just 2.8 million tonnes of hot steel, due to the limited casting capacity. After implementation of the project, some 1 million tonnes per annum of slabs will be supplied to the Mexican facility of Ternium group, capable of producing some 2.85 tonnes of hot rolled products per year.

The rolling capacity at San Nicola will be increased by way of upgrading the currently operated 2.8 million tonnes per annum hot rolling mill. The product range of this unit will not change and will still consist of 0.5mm to 14mm thick and 800mm to 1525mm wide HR coils. There is also a cold rolling mill in operation.

San Nicola produces pig iron in two blast furnaces, 1.3 and 2.3 million tonnes per annum capacity. The second unit is going to be stopped for relining in Q4 of 2008. The repair will last for some 90 days, however, this will not affect the ultimate pig iron and steel output, because the blast furnaces are currently running at about 78% of their full capacity.

Apart from San Nicola plant, Ternium Siderar also operates Ensenada plant, capable of producing 530,000 tonnes per annum of cold rolled flats and four facilities for production of galvanized and color coated products, Canning with 415,000 tonnes per annum, Florencio Varela with 120,000 tonnes per annum, Haedo with 180,000 tonnes per annum and Comesi with 150,000 tonnes per annum. San Nicola supplies the feedstock to all these operations in Argentina.

Cramer Media reported that the South African Competition Appeal Court will on 23rd and 24th October hear ArcelorMittal South Africa's appeal against the Competition Tribunal decision on March 27th 2007 that ArcelorMittal had contravened the Competition Act by charging an excessive price for its flat steel products to the detriment of consumers.

The Tribunal imposed certain behavioral remedies aimed at reducing the segmentation that ArcelorMittal l's pricing regime had created in the market for flat steel products. It also imposed an administrative penalty of ZAR 691.8 million.

The Tribunal said that the basis for ArcelorMittal SA's pricing regime was market segmentation and the limitations that it imposed on arbitrage between the segmented markets.

It added that "Macsteel International receives flat steel products from Mittal SA at prices significantly lower than those charged to other steel merchants. However Macsteel International is contractually prevented from making this steel available on the domestic market. Similar conditions are imposed on other domestic customers who receive discounts off Mittal SA's domestic list price. Essentially then these contractual limitations all come down to measures which prevent customers who receive steel at prices lower than the pre selected domestic list price from on selling this product to domestic customers who may be prepared to pay a price higher than the discounted price but lower than the list price."

The Tribunal said that "Price fixing through the manipulation of supply, is without doubt, the most egregious contravention of competition law and principles and this causes considerable damage to customers of the affected products and to the structure and fabric of the economy".

The fine represents 5.5% of ArcelorMittal's total turnover of ZAR 12,759,632,000 earned on flat steel in both the local and export market during 2003. In terms of the Competition Act the Tribunal is empowered to impose a penalty of up to 10% of the firm's annual turnover.

Reuters reported that US based Horsehead Corporation, which recently idled one of six operating furnaces at its zinc refinery in Pennsylvania, may restart the facility at the end of 2009.

Mr James Hensler president of Horsehead Corp said that the Monaca plant had been on course to produce about 150,000 short tons of zinc this year before the furnace closure. He added that "We hope to go back to six furnaces towards the end of next year."

Horsehead said in early September 2008 that it planned to reduce output by closing the furnace and cutting the amount of high cost secondary feedstock in a bid to boost profitability. As part of the move Horsehead, a subsidiary of Horsehead Holding Corporation, will increase the amount of electric arc furnace dust it uses as feed.

Mr Hensler said that the reduction in purchased feed would save the company between USD 5 to USD 10 million a year, depending on various factors, including the zinc price and how much material it was able to convert. He added that plans to expand capacity at Monaca had been put on hold for now in light of the global financial crisis because it did not make sense. But capital expenditure on its recycling activities continued to make sense, because the investment was related to cost-cutting.

Mr Hensler said that general galvanizing demand had been fairly steady, but would depend on infrastructure spending levels.
He saw some slowdown in demand from the tyre sector.

Bloomberg reported that Zodiac Maritime Agencies Limited may idle 20 of its largest vessels after the biggest drop in rental rates on record.

According to Mr Steve Rodley co managing director of Global Maritime Investments Limited and Mr Philippe van den Abeele MD of Castalia Fund Management (UK) Limited said that Zodiac will instruct the captains of its capsize vessels, which typically carry iron ore and coal, to deliver their current cargoes and then weigh anchor.

Ms Susan Oatway analyst at Drewry Shipping Consultants Limited said that shipping rates, as measured by the Baltic Dry Index, plunged 82% this year as steel producers from ArcelorMittal to OAO Severstal curbed output because of slowing global growth, sapping demand for iron ore. The removal of 20 vessels from the single voyage, or spot, market will eliminate as much as 5% of capacity.

European manufacturers' association ACEA said that European new vehicle registrations fell by 8.2% YoY in September despite two extra working days, as the fall out from the financial crisis hit auto manufacturers hard.

ACEA said that the credit crunch is hampering the automotive sector's ability to finance its daily operations and invest in new technologies for greener vehicles. It added that in addition, demand for new cars is weakening, with customers increasingly reluctant to make large purchases or unable to find lenders willing to finance them.

It said that registrations for the European Union excluding Malta and Cyprus, plus EFTA countries totaled 1,304,583, the lowest September level since 1998. It added that "Usually, September is a strong month for car sales that tend to pick up after the calmer summer months."

In western European markets, September new registrations fell 9.3% YoY as compared with September 2007 to 1,211,308. Among these, the French and German markets resisted best, with France growing 8.4% after a 7.1% drop in August, while Germany's September sales edged down just 1.5% after falling 10.4% in August.

The steepest declines were in the UK market, where sales fell 21.2% and in Spain by down 32.2%. Italy was down 5.5%. In the new European member states, growth was 7.8% in September, with 93,275 vehicles registered.

Among manufacturers, General Motors recorded a drop of 18.1% in vehicle registrations in September to 129,746. GM, which sells Opel, Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Saab brands in Europe, said last week it was cutting production at European sites.

Nissan, which also announced earlier this week it was cutting production at a plant in Spain, saw a drop of 5.2% in September to 32,762 units Europe. French manufacturers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen posted declines of 2.1% to 102,917 and 9% to 153,533 respectively for the region across their brands.

Fiat's European sales, including Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, edged down 1.4% to 97,553 for the month. Volkswagen European sales, which include Audi, Seat and Skoda vehicles, rose by 1.4% to 263,435 units.

Bloomberg reported that POSCO shares surged in Seoul trade after its bid for control of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company was blocked, while shares in the two companies left in the race both slumped.

POSCO jumped as much as 8.8% to KRW 328,000 and traded at KRW 307,500. The benchmark Kospi index dropped 3.1%. Hanwha Chemical dropped by the daily 15%limit to KRW 6,800. Hanwha Corporation also fell as much as 15% to KRW 25,950.

Korea Development Bank barred POSCO from bidding for Daewoo after its partner, GS Group, pulled out. That left Hanwha Group and Hyundai Heavy Industries Companies as the two companies vying for the 50.4% holding.

Hanwha Chemical Corporation and Hanwha Corporation plunged after a report today by the Seoul Economic Daily that the group may pay KRW 7 trillion won for the controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding. The stake on offer from state owned Korea Development Bank and Korea Asset Management Corp. was worth KRW 1.68 trillion as per Bloomberg calculations.

Mr Lee Jae Won, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc said that "In the current financial market, there's a high risk to be involved in any mergers and acquisitions. Also, paying too much for a company would mean less money left to invest in the future growth of the acquired company.''

Taiwan’s Feng Hsin Iron & Steel has announced to drop domestic rebar prices by TWD 700 per tonne this week. Its rebar price is now about TWD 20,800 per tonne.

Feng Hsin also decreased section price by TWD 2000 per tonne. Price of section is in a range of TWD 22,000 to TWD 22,200 per tonne. Actual deal price is in a range of TWD 21,500 to TWD 21,700 per tonne.

Feng Hsin Iron will remain its scrap purchasing price unchanged because there were some price cuts last week.

(Sourced from Yieh.corp)

'Directory of Autoparts Makers in India' is one of the top sources of information available on auto part makers in India. It is one of the most comprehensive and accurate directory of auto part makers in India.

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Preliminary data released by Indonesian trade ministry showed that the volume of tin inspected prior to export in September reached 11,001 tonnes, up by 17% YoY.

The data is based on reports of surveying companies as part of the export licensing system introduced in February 2007. The latest month’s figure is the third highest monthly total since the system began.

The provisional figure appears very large, given that production in Bangka and Belitung has been declining in recent months. The main consortium of private smelters made only one combined shipment of some 3,000 tonnes in this period, while refined tin production by state tin company PT Timah has been around 4,000 tonnes per month and that of PT Koba less than 1,000 tonnes per month.

A YoY comparison of YTD shipments shows the following changes within major market classifications

Service centers & distributors, up by 6%
Automotive, down by 4.6%
Construction & contractors’ products, down by 2.4%
Oil & gas, up by 5.5%

AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. It also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology.

It is reported that Hitachi has introduced its new Zaxis 120-3 excavator. The Zaxis is designed to be easily towed behind a dump truck and is available with rubber crawler pads and a backfill blade.

The 28,498 pound excavator is capable of generating 24,720 pounds of drawbar pull and 25,077 foot pounds of swing torque. It is also designed to wield a 12, 823 pound breakout force, and lift a maximum of 11,443 pounds over the front at a distance of 15 feet blade on ground. In addition, three power modes, two travel modes and one work mode provide what it takes to get the job done. The excavator features next generation pilot valves, ergonomic, short throw levers and metering and smooth multifunction operations.

The Zaxis 120-3 also features a large cab. It has plenty of legroom, a suspension seat that can slide together with or independent of the control console, air conditioning, a hot/cold box for beverages or snacks, and lots of glass, including a tinted overhead hatch.

The Zaxis is available with either an 8 foot 3 inch or 9 foot 11 inch arm. Track choices include 20 inch rubber crawler pad or 24 inch or 28 inch triple semi grouser steel shoes. A backfill blade is available, with the blade width varying according to the selected shoe size. A control pattern change valve, single pedal propel control, an air suspension heated seat, and high pressure, high flow auxiliary hydraulic package are also available.

L&H Hoists Co Limited has launched its new SF type lever hoist. The unit pictured is the SFL 075, which is 750 kilogram capacity, but the range spans capacities from 0.5 to 9 tonnes.

The range is designed in accordance with EN13157 with the manufacturer highlighting that the brake is always under lock despite the load situation. It adopts a new patented chain pulling device function which can unlock the brake in no load operating condition so the load chain can be pulled up and down at speed. In case of unexpected load being suddenly added during the no load chain pulling process, the brake can immediately lock the brake.

L&H said that the loose end of the load chain is equipped with an adjustable chain stop device, with which the operator can quickly adjust the position of the chain according to the practical application, so as to avoid a violent crash due to the chain slipping down at speed.

It added that its new lever hoist addresses issues raised in a guidance recently published by the International Marine Contractors Association regarding the use of such equipment underwater.

L&H admitted that its unit may need some tweaking but it is confident its lever hoist could meet these requirements. The guidance said there is a requirement that the chain stop which prevents the chain from running out should be capable of withstanding at least 2.5 times the maximum tension in the load chain at WLL.

L&H said its adjustable chain stop device on the loose end has the capability of withstanding at least 2.5 times the maximum tension in the load chain.

There is a strong possibility that Japanese integrated steelmakers will face a major reduction of actual shipments in their negotiated HR coil exports to South Korea for October to December 2008 quarter shipments as Korean LC openings for HR coil imports from Japan are dwindling.

For Q4 shipments, the Japanese steelmakers are contracted to provide Korean steel re rollers less HR coils by 20% to 50% than normal levels. There are signs that even South Korea's major commercial banks find themselves in a serious shortage of US dollars. Besides, some local banks with which steel re rollers have accounts are said to have rejected LC openings for HR coil imports from Japan.

As a result, the Japanese steelmakers find it difficult to execute actual shipments of their HR coil exports under contract with the Korean steel re rollers. Some Japanese steelmakers have already decided to stockpile slabs at their works as they believe that HR coil exports out of Japan to South Korea will virtually stop if the worst happens.

STX Corporation said that unlisted STX Heavy Industries Co Limited unit had won a KRW 500 billion order to build an energy facility from an unidentified shipper in the Middle East.

STX said in a statement that the plant, a big scale storage unit for crude oil, would be set up jointly with Samsung C&T Corporation in the second half of 2011.

A survey by Macquarie Bank showed that global demand for industrial metals will shrink over the next 12 months, prices will hit a bottom before the end of 2009 and output will be cut over the next year.

The survey of 150 consumers, producers, traders, fund managers and analysts was carried out on October 13th 2008. It showed 70 percent of respondents expect demand to contract over the next year, while 80% think prices will not hit bottom until next year. 20% believe prices will bottom out before the end of 2008.

Macquarie said that "Worryingly, from a short term price perspective, 64 percent of the audience believes that significant production cuts will be required in the next year. But only 43 percent of the audience expected that at current prices those cuts would take place."

It added that "When asked in which metal they would most like to hold a short position on a 12 month view, copper was the favorite short, closely followed by nickel. Tin was the least favorite short. When asked in which metal would they most like to hold a long position on a 12 month view, copper was the favorite long, followed by aluminum. Zinc was the least favorite long."

The survey showed that 35% of delegates believe that there is too much investment planned, while 41% believe that there is not enough investment being planned. 24% believe that the level of investment over the 5 year period is just right.

Citigroup Inc said that it has expanded its base metals business in London as part of an expansion of its commodities business.

Mr Peter Stoner joins as a MD and head of global metals at Citigroup Inc. Mr Craig Tuckman has also been named as a MD and is the head of global metals sales and structuring, where he will be joined by Mr Helen Lowe.

Mr Tom Parkin has been hired as a metals trader and Mr David Thurtell as a metals analyst.

Stolt Nielsen SA has announced that its subsidiary Stolt Tank Containers completed its previously announced agreement to acquire the tank container operations of Taby Group, following the approval of German regulatory authorities. The transaction is effective from October 1st 2008.

Stolt Tank Containers is the leading provider of door to door global logistics and transportation services for bulk liquid chemicals and food grade products. STC operates the world's largest fleet of stainless steel ISO tank containers, with nearly 26,000 currently in service, including many specialized units for aggressive or high purity products, compressed gases and cryogenic cargoes, and manages more than 80 fleets of tank containers on behalf of its customers.

Stolt Nielsen SA is one of the world's leading providers of transportation services for bulk liquid chemicals, edible oils, acids, and other specialty liquids. It provides integrated transportation solutions for its customers. Stolt Sea Farm, wholly owned by the company, produces and markets high quality turbot, sole, sturgeon and caviar. Stolt Nielsen is currently listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange

Teleos has announced the winners of the 2008 Asian Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises study. South Korea took top honors with 5 winners, followed by India with 4 winners and Indonesia and Japan with 2 winners each. Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore had 1 winner each. TATA Steel was named the top Asian knowledge driven organization.

The 2008 Asian MAKE Winners were recognized before 1,000 international business executives during a special Awards Ceremony at the 9th Annual World Knowledge Forum. The winners of the 2008 Asian MAKE study, conducted by Teleos in association with The KNOW Network, are

1. Astra International – Indonesia
2. Honda Motor – Japan
3. Korea Water Resources Corporation – Korea
4. Langham Place Hotel – Hong Kong
5. LG Electronics – Korea
6. MindTree Limited – India
7. POSCO – Korea
8. Samsung SDS – Korea
9. Satyam Computer Services – India
10. SingTel – Singapore
11. SK Energy – Korea
12. TATA Steel – India
13. Toyota Motor Corporation – Japan
14. Unilever Indonesia – Indonesia
15. Wipro Technologies – India
16. Woods Bagot – Australia

A panel of Asian based Fortune 500 senior executives and internationally recognized knowledge management, intellectual capital experts chose the winners. The panel rated organizations against the MAKE framework of eight key knowledge performance dimensions like visible drivers of competitive advantage and intellectual capital growth.

It is reported that Swiss Steel has selected the AIS solution for a plant wide Material and Production Order Tracking System for its high performance wire rod and bar mill.

The aim of SWST was to get a solution that covers the whole production process through all material and production order routes of the entire rolling mill plant, also integrating several stand-alone systems providing relevant quality information and manual inputs.

SWST intended to increase the productivity by reducing position gaps between production orders and to prevent material mix up along the production. A further objective was to collect high quality process data over a long period to prove and increase product quality upon the results of process data analysis.

Detailed information about each production order and piece of material is managed by the system. For each material leaving a production area, relevant quality parameters are validated against technological, production order, and customer constraints. Violations are logged and notified immediately to the operator.

Most of the process and data are recorded with a frequency of one second. All gathered production orders and processes related data are stored over a period of 15 years in a dedicated Archiving and Reporting Database. Thus this easy to handle application provides a maximum of information on the actual and already finished production. Swiss Steel wants to strengthen its cooperation with AIS in Level 2 process engineering and for further extensions of the system.

Mr Benno Brun project manager & system engineer and Mr Georg Nussbaum production manager said that "With this system we have the best overview and control of what actually happens in production. We can intervene in time when scheduling or charging problems occur. With the big amount of collected data and analysis tools, we have means to identify weak points in our production processes. Since the introduction of the new system the productivity was significantly increased."

The AIS Group is a leading supplier of planning and scheduling systems for the metals industry. Solutions from AIS increase the efficiency of expensive heavy equipment through the optimization of capacity planning and production schedules.

Korea Electric Power Corporation has reported that it swung to a quarterly loss due to hefty fuel costs and as a weaker won currency boosted import prices of coal and crude oil.

KEPCO reported a net loss of KRW 325 billion in the quarter to September 30th 2008 versus a KRW 1.16 trillion profit in 2007 and analysts' forecasts of KRW 131 billion profit. Shares in KEPCO fell 10% in the Q3, outperforming the market's 13.54% fall.

The state news agency MENA said that the Egyptian government has cancelled the tax on exports of cement and iron and steel products.

It said that “The decision by Trade and Industry Minister Mr Rachid Mohamed Rachid was in response to the possibilities of an international economic slowdown, which would hit Egyptian exports.”