Apparent  finished  steel use   in Latin America and the Caribbean reached  15.3 million t in Jan/Mar 2013, 2 % less than  during  the same period of 2012. Meanwhile, finished  steel production  decreased 1 % compared to Jan/Mar 2012, reaching  13.5 million t.

In April 2013, regional  finished  steel produc tion reached  4.8 million t,  3 % more than April 2012. Finished  steel production added up 18.3 million t between January and April 2013, similar to same period of 2012. Brazil was the most important producer with an output of 8.4 million t (48%  of regional production). Mexico followed with 5.4 million t (29%). Colombia displayed  a decrease  of 31 % and Chile, 17 %,  compared to the same period of 2012.

In April 2013, crude steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean reached  5.7 million t,  in line with the results  of April 2012.

During Jan/Apr 2013, crude steel production reached  21.5 million t,  3 % less than  same period of 2012. Countries  that showed  the most marked  decreases were Colombia (-32 %), Chile (-28 %)  and Argentina  (-19 %).

Trade balance

During the first quarter of 2013, regional trade described a deficit of 2.4 million t,  while shortfall  for the same period of 2012 had reached  3.1 million.

Between  Jan/Mar 2013, every country in Latin America and the Caribbean – except Argentina  and Brazil – displayed a trade  deficit of finished steel. The most important unbalance was located in Mexico (-1 million t).  Other countries that displayed  significant  shortfalls were Colombia (446 000 t), Peru (419 000 t)  and Chile (330 000 t).

With its latest product release, HGG has developed a machine that will drastically optimize the production process of its customers. The SPC-RB pipe cutting machine fills the long-awaited gap between the perfect cut for optimal weld preparation and the answer to the logistic challenges in pipe handling companies are facing nowadays.

By combining two smart concepts, HGG is now able to offer the best of both worlds in CNC Pipe Cutting. The machine incorporates the logistic advantages of a roller bed-type machine with accuracy of a chuck-driven machine. Using this highly intelligent system, the SPC-RB provides the long-awaited accurate and fast solution for pipe works, steel structures and offshore structures. In the past, companies had to choose between one of those aspects.

Since safety regulations are becoming stricter, companies are looking for safer ways to cut their piping. The SPC-RB incorporates a smart logistic system that makes the use of cranes redundant. Besides this logistic system, the SPC-RB provides its users, among many others, with three main features:

World crude steel production for the 63 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 132 million t in April 2013, an increase of 1.2 % compared to April 2012.

China’s crude steel production for April 2013 was 65.7 million t, up by 6.8 % compared to April 2012. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.2 million t of crude steel in April 2013, up by 1.0 % over April 2012. South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.5 million t in April 2013, down by -6.3% compared to the same month last year.

In the EU, Germany produced 3.7 million t of crude steel in April 2013, down by -0.9 % on April 2012. Italy’s crude steel production was 2.1 million t, a decrease of -11.6 % compared to April 2012. Spain produced 1.4 million t of crude steel, an increase of 10.3 % compared to April 2012. France’s crude steel production was 1.2 million t, down by -12.3 % on April 2012.

Turkey’s crude steel production for April 2013 was 2.9 million t, a decrease of -0.7 % compared to April 2012.

The US produced 7.3 million t of crude steel in April 2013, down by -7.3 % on April 2012.

In April 2013, Russia produced 5.6 million t of crude steel, a decrease of -4.3 % compared to the same month last year. Ukraine’s crude steel production for April 2013 was 2.7 million t, -8.4 % less than April 2012.

Brazil produced 3.0 million t of crude steel production in April 2013, a decrease of -1.6 % compared to the same month last year.

The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio for the 63 countries in April 2013 rose to 80.0 % from 79.1% in March 2013. Compared to April 2012, it is -2.0 percentage points lower.

As negotiations on the EU review of the CO2 emissions from cars Regulation kick off today, the steel industry calls upon the Council to uphold Parliament’s amendment acknowledging the importance of a Life Cycle Assessment in emissions legislation after 2020.

On 24 April, in its vote on the review of CO2 emissions from cars legislation (443/2009), the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) acknowledged the need to take into account “greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy supply and the life cycle of the vehicle" in regulations after 2020. WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Association, welcomed this amendment and calls on Member States to support it during the negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission (trialogue) set to begin today.

VpCI 637 TOL provides internal corrosion protection for gas flow and gas transmission lines. The product has superior effectiveness against water, corrosive gasses and chloride contamination. It is a combination of vapour phase, neutralizing and film-forming corrosion inhibitors to combat the broadest range of corrosive attack from moisture and condensation, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other corrosive contaminants in natural gas.

The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has rele ased preliminary figures for 2012 which show that stainless steel production grew by 5.2 % to reach a record high of 35.4 million t. China accounted for the increase in production, with other regions of the world showing negative growth, mainly due to de-stocking.

The Italian Fassi Gru S.p.A is recognized as one of the leader manufacturers of loader cranes in the world. The strong innovative feature of Fassi products is guaranteed by the use of advanced materials. To further increase their quality and performance, after a specific research project Fassi found new toughness requirement, which in their opinion was needed for the approval of material for crane building. Ruukki's high-strength Optim 700 MC Plus was the steel that best met the requirements, which is why Fassi is using it as their steel of choice.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine, has finished the overhaul of its blast furnace number seven after just 26 days. A total of 17 operations were performed on the blast furnace. "In April we accomplished a category two overhaul repair of blast furnace number seven. During this period, the furnace remained idle for four weeks (19 days of repairs and seven of commissioning operations). We were using only two blast furnaces in this period, but this did not affect our production performance in April", said Paramjit Kahlon, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih chief operating officer. Kahlon added that cold repairs to the two-bath steelmaking vessel in the open-hearth plant and repairs to the return-stream apron conveyor number one in the sinter shop number one, also started in April.

Outokumpu has started a strategic review of its high performance alloys or VDM business unit. During this review, Outokumpu will evaluate strategic options for VDM and consider how best to drive continued growth and profitability for the business, within or outside of Outokumpu. Says Outokumpu CEO Mika Seitovirta: “Given the challenging economic and market environment, we want to investigate strategic options for the VDM business unit with the aim of improving our profitability and strengthening our balance sheet while ensuring the realization of at least € 200 million of synergy savings enabled by the Inoxum acquisition.”