The weeklong blockage of the Suez Canal — coming as it does on top of a year of escalating ocean freight rates for the Asia-European trade, port congestion in both regions and shipping delays — has inevitably prompted debate about alternatives. The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help […]
Category: Logistics
Ever Given freed in Suez Canal, but ripple effect on trade will linger
As the days went by and the disruption from the blockage of the Suez Canal by the container vessel Ever Given increased, the implications became more and more severe. We’re offering timely emails with exclusive analyst commentary and some best practice advice. Sign up here. Not all of those 360 vessels backed up waiting for […]
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 […]
Week in Review: Steel capacity; February US auto sales; OPEC meets
Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, which this week includes coverage of steel capacity utilization, the latest OPEC ministerial meeting and much more. Overall, most base metals seem to be retracing from a late February peak. […]
Global supply chains under pressure amid rising costs, delays
When we first started reporting on global freight costs in Q4 last year, we expected that the pandemic bounce-back would probably be a relatively short-term effect, easing around the Chinese Lunar New Year. Around then, Chinese manufacturers closed down and the shipping industry had a chance to catch up on backlogs. Unfortunately, in the meantime, […]
This Morning in Metals: US trade in goods deficit ticks up in January
This morning in metals news: the US international goods trade deficit moved up slightly from December to January; meanwhile, MetalMiner sister site SpendMatters took to LinkedIn for feedback on President Joe Biden’s executive order on supply chains; and, lastly, Sweden will be home to what will reportedly be the world’s largest “green hydrogen plant.” US […]
Biden signs executive order aimed at securing supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals
President Joe Biden’s latest executive order seeks to secure a variety of important supply chains. For example, in one higher-profile case, General Motors recently announced it would extend downtimes at several plants as a result of a semiconductor shortage. As we’ve noted in our Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) series, rare earths supply has […]
This Morning in Metals: Officials break ground for AM/NS Calvert expansion project
This morning in metals news: officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at the AM/NS Calvert mill earlier this month; President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order that calls for assessments of several critical supply chains; and US housing starts fell in January. AM/NS Calvert officials hail expansion project Officials celebrated the imminent expansion […]
Have Asia-US, Asia-Europe container rates peaked?
Shipping lines have understandably come in for a huge amount of criticism over a doubling of ocean freights — in many cases, much more — over the last 12 months and a host of knock-on issues around container availability and vessel space. Shipments have been delayed both at origin in Asia and at destination in […]
U.K. developing an integrated rare-earths-to-turbine supply chain
In a rare example of joined up governmental thinking, the announcement by Pensana Rare Earths that it has submitted a planning application for a $125 million rare earth oxide refining facility. The facility would be near Hull in northeast England and would plug a gap in an ore-to-finished-turbine manufacturing landscape developing rapidly in the U.K.’s […]
