Week in Review: Semiconductor shortage; MetalMiner webinar; rising Midwest Premium

Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including coverage of the semiconductor shortage, the Midwest Premium and more.
A fire at a Japanese chip-making plant last week has slammed automotive operations. General Motors, Ford and many other automakers have announced idling of production as a result of the shortage.
Meanwhile, on the supply side, Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion to build two new Arizona plants. Furthermore, Intel said it aims to “serve the incredible global demand for semiconductor manufacturing.”
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Week of March 22-26 (semiconductor shortage, Midwest Premium and more)

• Hot rolled coil prices in Western Europe have continued to rise, Christopher Rivituso explained earlier this week.
• The semiconductor shortage has impacted the automotive sector, leading to a number of manufacturers idling production.
• Sticking with the automotive market, Europe’s automotive sector continues its electrification drive, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns explained.
• Burns on China’s aluminum sector and what efforts to curb pollution could mean for the aluminum market.
• British Steel recently announced its first delivery of rails to Europe under new owner Jingye Group.
• Sohrab Darabshaw on the Chinese steelmaking hub of Tangshan and what efforts to curb pollution could mean for steel, iron ore and more.
• US steel capacity utilization dipped to 77.3% last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
• The US’s adoption of battery energy storage will continue to rise, the Energy Information Administration reported.
• After a heavily disrupted first half of the year, global copper mine production in 2020 ultimately finished unchanged relative to 2019 production.
• In a webinar earlier this week, MetalMiner experts overviewed market conditions and buying strategies for what is currently a bullish commodities market.
• U.S. Steel recently unveiled what it called a new sustainable steel product line dubbed verdeX™.
• The rising Midwest Premium reflects an exceedingly tight US aluminum market.
• According to the Economic Policy Institute, the former Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum produced “near-immediate benefits.”
• Lastly, circling back to the semiconductor shortage, Ford said it will temporarily idle production of the F-150 at its Dearborn, Michigan plant.

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