Few would argue that semiconductor shortages have hampered automotive output. Earlier in the year, automakers temporarily shuttered factories, cutting into output. According to Toyota, it would slash worldwide vehicle production by 40% in September because of the shortage. Globally, the market lost some 2 million vehicles due to chip shortages. As a result, automotive aluminum […]
Category: Supply & Demand
Metals supply constraints likely to linger into 2022
Several factors are likely to see base metals continue to encounter supply constraints into 2022. Chief among them is demand, said Colin Hamilton, managing director of commodities research at BMO Capital Markets. “We have never seen this level of demand impulse before,” he said in an Oct. 12 web presentation. Producers have also had difficulty […]
Copper market shows signs of distress; views differ on copper supply outlook
There doesn’t appear to be a lot of consensus around the copper market. On the one hand, according to Reuters, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) reports the global refined copper market will be roughly balanced between supply and demand this year. Meanwhile, the group forecasts a significant supply surplus in 2022. The ICSG is […]
Further bad news for metals consumers: alloying element shortages
We wrote recently about the impact power rationing and rising coal costs were having on metals producers in Europe. Well, it would seem that is not the only driver pushing semi-finished product prices higher this month. Each month, MetalMiner hosts a webinar on a specific metals topic. Explore the upcoming webinars and sign up for […]
This Morning in Metals: Steel demand to rise 4.5%, World Steel Association forecasts
This morning in metals news: the World Steel Association forecast steel demand to rise by 4.5% this year; U.S. import prices increased in September; and, lastly, the Energy Information Administration forecasts U.S. coal-fired electricity generation will increase this year for the first time since 2014. Are you under pressure to generate steel cost savings? Make […]
China raises rare earth production quotas to record levels as prices surge
China has previously been cast in a sinister role with respect to restricting the production and export of critical rare earth metals, usually salts, used to produce a host of products. Those products include magnets for consumers electronics and electric cars, defense equipment and advanced ceramics. But while the country deliberately created a near monopoly […]
Energy crisis in China hits more than just metals output
Much is being made of Beijing’s efforts to meet its environmental emissions targets — the country states it will hit peak emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 — and its restricted steel and aluminium production. But a recent Reuters post by John Kemp suggests output is being impacted more by a widening electricity […]
This Morning in Metals: Steel capacity utilization rises to 85.2%
This morning in metals news: U.S. steel capacity utilization reached 85.2% for the week ending Sept. 25; meanwhile, most planned U.S. battery storage additions in the next few years will be paired with solar; and, lastly, unemployment rates in August declined in nearly all metropolitan areas. Steel prices have been rising for over a year, […]
Single-family housing starts slump in August
U.S. housing starts overall picked up in August, the Census Bureau reported this month. Request a 30-minute demo of the MetalMiner Insights platform now. Housing starts overall rise, but single-family starts drop Privately owned housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,615,000. The August rate jumped by 3.9% from the previous month. […]
EUROFER: EU steel demand shows growth in early 2021
As has been well documented by now, demand for a wide variety of materials plunged on the heels of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Among those materials, of course, is steel. Consumer demand for steel-using products declined and construction projects came to a halt. However, data from the European Steel Association show […]
