Industry News

South Africa’s downstream fabricators and manufacturers are continuing to experience difficulties in securing steel and are also confronting rising prices, which could be partly attributed to the throttling of supply over the past few months. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) is currently conducting a survey of steel consumers to assess the state of supply and the department’s Umeesha Naidoo tells Engineering News that responses have already been received from a number of merchants, re-rollers and downstream companies. ...Read More

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has expressed its disappointment at the decision by steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to retrench nearly 1 000 workers across the company and to put its Saldanha Works plant on care and maintenance. ...Read More

Global crude steel production by the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) increased by 1.7% year-on-year to 156.6-million tonnes in July. ...Read More

Global crude steel production for the first quarter of this year increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 444.1-million tonnes, global industry body, the World Steel Association (worldsteel), said in a statement on Monday. ...Read More

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said on Sunday that it was very concerned about imminent job losses in the domestic steel and aluminium industry if the import duties imposed by the United States government succeed. ...Read More

Global crude steel production increased by 6.6% year-on-year to 154.9-million tonnes in May, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported on Monday. ...Read More

ArcelorMittal South Africa’s (AMSA’s) liquid steel production increased by 5.9% to 71 000 t in the three months ended March 31. ...Read More

South African steel and aluminium firms remain watchful and uncertain about the effects that proposed increased US trade protection could have n their businesses. However, the companies also indicate that they will seek to mitigate the risk through export diversification, as well as a continued focus on markets outside of the US. ...Read More

In an effort to streamline our product offering and continue to improve our customer service levels, NJR Steel has merged NJR Steel Reinforcing with NJR Steel Mesh. ...Read More

Safeguard duties of 12% have been officially placed on hot-rolled coil (HRC) and plate entering South Africa following publication of the August 11 Government Gazette, which amends schedule two of the Customs and Excise Act. ...Read More

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) says it is extremely concerned that the challenges facing the local steel industry will only worsen if the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commissions’ (ITC’s) parallel investigations to determine if US producers have been harmed by carbon and alloy steel wire rod imports from Italy, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and/or the UK, prove positive. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) will approach the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) directly with a request for discounted electricity tariffs as part of a multi-pronged business sustainability action plan unveiled after the JSE-listed group slumped to a R1.6-billion headline loss in the six months to June 30. ...Read More

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies confirmed on Monday that he had signed off on a hot-rolled coil (HRC) safeguard duty, but refused to be drawn on the duty level proposed until the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) had been notified. ...Read More

The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) confirms that it has recommended increased protection on several downstream steel products and that it is also considering recommending duties on a range of other value-added steel products in future. ...Read More

There's certainly been a great deal of litigation around the trade mark ClearVu in South Africa – passing-off proceedings before the High Court, an appeal from that judgment to the Supreme Court of Appeal, and proceedings before the Advertising Standards Authority ("ASA"). Now there's another judgment, one that deals with an opposition to a trade mark application for ClearVu. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) announced on Tuesday that it would be increasing prices on flat- and long-steel products from December 1 – a move it attributed to market movements, rising input costs and the need to staunch losses at its Vanderbijlpark Works. ...Read More

ArcelorMittal SA's new CEO, Wim de Klerk, says the company's new pricing policy for sales of flat steel products, agreed with the government, does not have precedent elsewhere in the world. ...Read More

South African steel consumers are raising serious concerns about the composition of the steel-price basket being proposed by ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) as a mechanism for regulating domestic flat-steel prices and are seeking urgent talks with government to air their anxieties ahead of any deal on the so-called “fair pricing” methodology. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) dismissed suggestions again on Wednesday that its deal with government to raise steel import protection in return for fairer pricing – as well as jobs and investment guarantees – precluded it from increasing prices. ...Read More

Safeguard duties, in addition to the 10% protection already introduced on a range of steel products entering South Africa, “remain critical in the short term to ensure the future sustainability of primary steel production”, ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) said on Friday. ...Read More

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel announced on Thursday that the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) had recommended the imposition of a tariff duty of 10% on two additional steel products – hot rolled coil (HRC) and certain steel bars and rods. ...Read More

Government will pull out all the stops to ensure the sustainability of the local steel manufacturing sector, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies stressed on Wednesday. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) informed its customers this week that it would be increasing prices on a range of steel products by up to 11% from April 1, but the JSE-listed group insisted that the hikes had nothing to do with recent increases in tariff protection from 0% to 10% on various grades. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has made a R1.5-billion proposal to the Competition Commission to settle all outstanding matters against the company – if approved, it would be the largest competition-related fine ever paid by a single South African entity. ...Read More

With confirmation that government and the steel industry are close to finalising a package of measures designed to preserve the future of the embattled primary steel sector, there are concerns that domestic steel consuming industries could be squeezed between tariff-protected domestic steel prices and sustained import competition. ...Read More

Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium (Highveld) creditors on Tuesday voted in favour of a business rescue plan, which includes a buy-out offer from International Resources Limited (IRL), of Hong Kong, China. ...Read More

The South African steel industry is under major stress, with mills having already been shut and further plant closures on the cards. ...Read More

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In a rare show of collective force, labour and business in the steel sector appear to have successfully lobbied government to back efforts to raise protection for the embattled sector ...Read More

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NJR Steel-Glencoe is excited to announce the launch of our cash & carry steel service, and our newly renovated retail shop, fully stocked with steel related paint and hardware products offering our customers a fast and friendly shopping experience. ...Read More

NJR Steel-fencing (Pty) Ltd is proud to introduce the De-Fence range of fencing solutions now offering the market “the new alternative” when specifying or selecting security fencing products and services specifically designed to meet all levels of security. ...Read More

NJR Steel Westdene (Pty) Ltd was one of the sponsors of the recent Guinness World Record achieved by Enrico Schoeman and Andre De Kock when the rode their Australian Sidecar through a 120.4 meter “Tunnel of Fire”. ...Read More

The detailed feasibility study into a $4.5-billion, two-phase steel project planned for development by the Hebei Iron and Steel Group, of China, and South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) should be completed in the first quarter of 2015, IDC CEO Geoffrey Qhena reported on Thursday. ...Read More

South Africa will put pressure on steel producer ArcelorMittal SA and petrochemicals firm Sasol to reduce prices and help cut input costs in the steel, platinum and polymer industries by up to 15%, a government minister said. ...Read More

Imported fabricated structural steel is a significant challenge for local fabricators, owing to the quantity and price at which it is imported, says industry body for the promotion of the steel construction industry in Southern Africa the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (Saisc). ...Read More

JSE-listed steel group Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium has renewed its cautionary announcement, advising shareholders in a statement on Wednesday that negotiations with potential purchasers of a majority stake in the South African company remained incomplete, ...Read More

Africa’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) partially shrugged off weak domestic market conditions in the first quarter to March 31, 2014, to report a sharp turnaround in headline earnings of R323-million, from a loss of R270-million in the fire-afflicted corresponding period in 2013. ...Read More

South Africa’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) does not expect South Africa’s weak domestic steel market to show any sign of recovery until after June, and has warned that the protracted platinum industry strike is exacerbating already weak trading conditions across the key steel-consuming sectors of mining, manufacturing and construction. ...Read More

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) says it is building substantial metal stocks ahead of the planned four-month shutdown of its Newcastle mill, in KwaZulu-Natal, which is being prepared for a R1.6-billion blast-furnace reline – the JSE-listed group’s single largest capital project in six years. ...Read More

South Africa lifted its overall steel production by 4.1% in 2013, increasing output from 6.9-million tons in 2012 to 7.2-million tons, making it the twenty-first largest steel producing country in the world. ...Read More

ArcelorMittal announced that its 51% subsidiary, ArcelorMittal South Africa, has reached an agreement with Sishen Iron Ore Company Ltd a subsidiary of Kumba, relating to the long-term supply of iron ore. ...Read More

Carpenter Technology Corporation said that it had laid off 43 workers and cut 12 unfilled positions across its worldwide footprint. ...Read More

South Africa’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) recorded a second-quarter recovery, following a dismal fire-afflicted first quarter. Nevertheless, it still slumped to a R123-million headline loss for the first half of the year to June 30, 2013. ...Read More

ArcelorMittal South Africa reported a headline loss of ZAR 123 million compared to headline earnings of ZAR 106 million for the half year ended 30th June 2012. ...Read More

The global steel industry experienced a challenging year in 2012, with the World Steel Association, which represents steelmakers in 62 countries, reporting that apparent steel consumption increased only 1.7% in 2012, a sharp drop from the 7.4% growth in 2011, owing to the European debt crisis, which impacted negatively on infrastructure and construction spending ...Read More

South Africa’s steel production fell by 7.6% year-on-year in May, according to data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) on Thursday. ...Read More

ArcelorMittal South Africa is supplying its client, China's Sinohydro Corporation, with reinforcing steel from its Newcastle plant for a number of hydro-electrical projects across Zambia. ...Read More

ArcellorMittal SA will on Friday release its first-quarter results in what appears to have been another challenging quarter for South Africa’s biggest steel producer, following a fire at its Vanderbijlpark facility earlier this year that damaged steel making facilities. ...Read More

According to world steel association data, South African steel production fell by 12.5% YoY in March to an estimated 570‚000 tonne after plunging by 16.6% YoY in February to 515‚000 tonne. ...Read More

The long-running iron-ore dispute between ArcelorMittal South Africa (Mittal) and Kumba Iron Ore took a step towards resolution on Thursday, when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed an appeal by Imperial Crown Trading 289 (ICT) and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) against a 2011 North Gauteng High Court ruling on the status of mineral rights at the Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape. ...Read More

International steel group Evraz has announced plans to sell 85% of South African steel and vanadium producer Evraz Highveld to a black economic-empowerment (BEE) consortium for $320-million – the transaction would be the largest BEE deal in the South African steel sector. ...Read More

Construction and engineering group Murray & Roberts (M&R) has confirmed that it has disposed of the Cape Town Iron and Steel Works (Cisco), in Kuilsrivier, in the Western Cape, for an undisclosed fee. ...Read More

Murray & Roberts (M&R) has reached an agreement in principle with a prospective buyer for its Western Cape steel operations, Cape Town Iron and Steel Works, trading as Cisco. ...Read More

South African IDC in talks for partners for new steel plant ...Read More

The South African Iron and Steel Institute (Saisi) reported on Wednesday that its assistance to value-added steel exporters had been increased by 28.2%, from R135/t to R173/t. ...Read More

SE-listed Evraz Highveld Steel on Wednesday said it was moving forward with its comprehensive cost reduction plan, which included labour restructuring. ...Read More

The Competition Tribunal has ordered Reinforcing Mesh Solutions (RMS) and Vulcania Reinforcing to pay penalties of R21.6-million and R5.6-million respectively for price-fixing and customer allocation. ...Read More

May 8 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, sees global steel consumption growing by between 4 and 4.5 percent, with a decline in steel use in Europe and a surge in North America, its chief executive said on Tuesday. ...Read More

Pretoria - The government will lay criminal charges against Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] over its application for a mining right over the company’s Sishen mine it did not yet own, a lawyer for the department of minerals resources said on Wednesday. ...Read More

Johannesburg - ArcelorMittal SA [JSE:ACL], a unit of the world’s top steelmaker, said on Wednesday that a furnace at its Newcastle plant had failed and would be out of service for the next two months. ...Read More

Afripalm Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Steel Authority of India to build a steel mill in South Africa, the Business Day reported on Wednesday. ...Read More

GOVERNMENT said on Thursday it will seek a deal with domestic steel and iron industries allowing steel firms to source iron ore from Kumba Iron Ore at a discount, subject to a steel pricing agreement. ...Read More

Crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association rose 2,4% in October to 118-million tons when compared with the same month in 2009. However, Chinese output fell by 3,8% year-on-year to 50,3-million tons. ...Read More

The two businesses, which are part of Anglo’s Scaw Metals, make steel balls and rods that are used to grind up copper and gold ore in the huge rotating mills of mining plants. ...Read More

South Africa’s second-largest steel producer Evraz Highveld expects weak domestic demand for steel to continue until the second half of 2011 and warns that this, together with a stronger rand, will mean that the financial position of the company is unlikely to improve in the near term. ...Read More

Johannesburg - Construction group Murray & Roberts Holdings said on Tuesday that it would close or dispose of underperforming units within its steel business within the financial year. ...Read More

Johannesburg – The Competition Tribunal on Wednesday confirmed the settlement agreements between the Competition Commission and scrap metal dealers. ...Read More

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers has suspended a planned strike at JIC Mining Services, which provides mining companies with drilling and blasting services, after a new wage offer from the company. ...Read More

JOHANNESBURG - The creation of a State mining company is the prerogative of the South African government, Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll said in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. ...Read More

Durban - The ruling African National Congress has rejected calls from its governing alliance partners to weaken the rand or nationalise mines, a top official said on Tuesday at the ANC’s national general council (NGC) meeting. ...Read More

A 50 000 t/y facility to convert iron-ore fines into metallic briquettes for use as a scrap supplement in electric steelmaking, will be developed in Phalaborwa, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, following a $17-million transaction unveiled on Friday. ...Read More

Bloomberg reported South Africa is stepping up efforts to fight an unexpected legacy of apartheid cartels in industries from supermarkets to steel that push up prices, deter investment and damp competition. ...Read More

Global crude steel output for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 127-million tons in July, or 11.5% higher than July 2010, and more or less in line with the 128-million tons produced in June. ...Read More