According to the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers’ Association, in January this year Turkey’s total steel product imports amounted to 1.2 million metric tonnes rising 19.1% compared to the same month of the previous year with a total revenue of USD 985 million up 6.9% YoY. In January this year, the average price of Turkey’s steel imports stood at USD 850 per MT falling compared to the average of USD 947 per tonne recorded in the same month of 2012.
In January, Turkey’s steel billet imports decreased 10.4% YoY amounting to 209,000 tonnes while the country imported 178,000 tonnes of steel slab with a significant increase compared to January 2012. In the month in question, Turkey imported 580,483 tonnes of flat rolled steel up 3.2% while its long steel imports came to 122,000 tonnes rising 24.1% both compared to the same month of the previous year.
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via Turkey steel product imports up by 19pct in January – 307236 -.
Amid mounting international pressure against GEA the IMF and EMF joined the picket line at GEA’s subsidiary in Turkey on December 16 to address locked-out workers and show solidarity with their struggle.
TURKEY: The international delegation was led by IMF Assistant Secretary General Fernando Lopes and EMF General Secretary Ulrich Eckelmann, joined by metal workers representatives from Turkey, Italy, France, Hungary and Germany.
The IMF launched a full-scale international campaign to protest against the anti-union actions of German-based multinational GEA. The struggle of GEA workers in Turkey, dismissed for their union affiliation in IMF-affiliated Birlesik Metal-IS, was publicised globally, and unions all over the world have pledged their support.
More than 5000 protest letters have been sent to local and German GEA managements. Still GEA continued to ignore the demand to meet with the union.
“The global labour movement, including the IMF and the 25 million members we represent, are standing shoulder to shoulder with you” said Fernando Lopes to the gathered workers at the GEA picket. “Union members from transport to mining to agricultural to aerospace stand with you in solidarity.”
“We know GEA management inside this factory is watching and listening, I am here today to ask GEA management to open the gate doors and meet us.”
Lopes enumerated GEA’s anti-union actions:”GEA has broken an agreement with our affiliate Birlesik Metal. GEA has broken an agreement with the IMF. GEA has broken an agreement with German metalworkers and IG Metall. GEA is in breach of key international business commitments and yet still refuses to meet.”
In a letter to GEA from IG Metall in Germany the union has expressed its support to the GEA workers and urged management to enter into meaningful dialogue with Biresik.
Lopes said to the picketers that IMF will support Birlesik Metal-IS’ demands before the OECD and ILO if necessary, and is prepared to break the relationship with GEA if the company fails to resolve this issue.
“We will not stop until there is justice, we will not stop until GEA workers are reinstated.”
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via IMF and EMF demand meeting with GEA Turkey – International Metalworkers’ Federation.
The 6th SteelOrbis Turkish Steel Market Conference held in Istanbul on November 18th 2011 with the sponsorship of Turkish integrated steelmaker Erdemir began with a quick look by the SteelOrbis team at market developments since the last conference took place.
Dr Veysel Yayan general secretary of the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers Association made a presentation in which he cast his eye over trends in steel production across the world and in particular assessed the current situation of Turkish steel producers.
Dr Yayan stated that world steel production in 2011 was expected to increase by five percent. However, the ongoing instability in the world economy, particularly in Europe, may raise the need for revision of this prediction.
Dr Yayan said that Turkey is a dynamic economy with a rapidly growing steel industry, ranking first among the fastest growing steel industries in the world in 2011, thanks to recent investments in flat steel, quality steel, structural steel and stainless steel. These investments will give the Turkish steel industry a better production and trade structure and will help the Turkish steel industry to serve the domestic and export markets better,.
Accordingly, Turkey’s total finished steel production this year is foreseen to reach 31.5 million tonnes from 26.3 million tonnes last year while its flat steel production is predicted to hit 10 million tonnes this year up from 7.3 million tonnes last year and 4.8 million tonnes in 2009. Besides with its crude steel production hitting over 3 million tonnes in both September and October, Turkey now ranks as the seventh largest steel producing country in the world.
Dr Yayan also underlined the growth in Turkey’s finished steel consumption, rising from 23.6 million tonnes in 2010 to an anticipated 26.5 million tonnes this year. In 2012, Turkey’s total finished steel consumption is foreseen to reach 30 million tonnes. As for finished steel consumption per capita finished steel consumption per capita in Turkey this year is expected to grow by 12 percent year on year to 375 kilogram to 380 kilogram which is above the average finished steel consumption in the European Union and about 70% higher than the world average.
He said that in 2011 capacity usage in Turkey is foreseen to remain at 78% and this rate is not expected to increase in the near term due to the contraction in Turkey’s export markets. Nevertheless, the Turkish steel industry’s contribution to Turkey’s external trade surplus will become stronger in the coming period, as Turkey’s steel exports already exceed its steel imports, 13.8 million tonnes against 8.2 million tonnes in the first 9 months of this year.
(Sourced from Steel Orbis)
via Steel Guru : Turkey may become Europe largest steel producer by 2015 – Mr Veysel – 236520 – 2011-11-19.
POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang, center, poses with high-profile figures from the Turkish government, including Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, left, and Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergun, right, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s construction of a stainless steel plant in Izmit, Turkey, Wednesday. The plant, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2013, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons. / Courtesy of POSCO
IZMIT, TURKEY ― POSCO broke ground Wednesday for its $350 million cold-rolled stainless steel plant in Izmit, Turkey in its efforts to become a leading stainless steel maker.
The plant, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2013, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons.
It is the steel giant’s second investment in Turkey, following the launch of its POSCO-Turkey Nilufer Processing Center (TNPC), a comprehensive auto steel processing center, last year in Bursa Province.
“The plant will be equipped with one of the best cutting-edge facilities in the world and is expected to stably produce solid cold-rolled stainless steel,” POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang said in the ground-breaking ceremony, where Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergun and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan were present.
The chairman also said that the building of the stainless steel plant will help Turkey to improve its trade balance, as the production from the new plant will replace its imports.
Currently, the Pohang-based company, which can nearly produce 3 million tons of stainless steel, is sitting third in terms of annual production capacity behind Acerinox and Taiyuan Iron and Steel, which has an annual capacity of 3.4 million tons and 3 million tons, respectively.
The mill will be established within the Izmit industrial complex, about 100 kilometers east of Istanbul that features major infrastructure such as electricity, road and natural gas, and its closeness to Derince Port will make it easy to bring in stainless hot-rolled plates, from Pohang Steelworks, necessary for the stainless cold-rolling mill.
With the Turkey stainless mill, POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker, expects to play a leading role in the Eurasian country’s domestic stainless market, which entirely relies on imports ― 210,000 tons in 2009 and 326,000 tons in 2010 ― and capitalize on Turkey’s geographic advantage to take on the demands from neighboring areas including the Middle-East, Eastern Europe, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
According to the steelmaker, Turkey has swiftly evolved into heavy industry-centered mode, with global automakers like Renault, Fiat, Ford, Nissan and Honda clustering in the country.
In addition, Turkey, along with Italy and Germany, is the top three home appliance manufacturers in Europe, so there is strong demand for high-end stainless steel from them.
According to POSCO, Turkey and its neighboring nations are expected to fall shortest of supply of stainless steel in the world in 2015, with its supply likely to reach 40 million tons ― 90 million tons in lack of demand.
This groundbreaking comes as POSCO’s aggressive push for value-added stainless steel is on full display.
Last week, POSCO purchased shares of Southeast Asia’s largest stainless steel producer, Thainox Stainless, to boost its stake to 75 percent from 15 percent, while earlier this year, it expanded the capacity of its Chinese stainless steel joint venture, Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel (ZPSS), from 800,000 tons to 1 million tons per year.
Over the past year, POSCO has also taken over Asia Stainless Corp. in Vietnam and Taihan ST Corp. in Korea.
Earlier the day, the POSCO Chairman said that he will broaden its economic cooperation with Turkey.
“We have set our sights on Turkey because of its steady economic growth,” Chung told reporters in a press conference after meeting Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
According to him, POSCO and its affiliates will make efforts to enter the Turkish markets, while Turkey is considering giving supports including tax benefits.
Commodity reported that Turkey has become the 10th biggest producer of steel globally and second largest steel producer in Europe with in a period of 10 years from 2001 to 2010. Growth of the industry in Turkey has been driven in part by strong domestic consumption.
In the 5 years between 2005 and 2010, per capita crude steel consumption in Turkey has increased by over 25% to 341 kilogram and is expected to continue to grow in the medium and long term. In addition to the strong domestic demand and dynamic steel consuming industries, Turkey’s well placed geographical position also supports exports and thus production.
LME has reported that its steel billet futures volumes have surged in 2011 with over 400,000 lots traded since launch, equivalent to 26 million tonnes and USD 13 billion. It has so far seen seven Turkey Steel companies registering their brands to be associated with the steel billet contract. There are currently 50 brands listed under the LME Steel Billet contract in 12 locations and 9 countries.
Mr Martin Abbott CEO of the LME said that “We are keen to work with the Turkish authorities to further the acceptance of the LME steel contract and to show industry users how it can protect them against price volatility.”
Turkey’s steel production capacity has been consistently rising since 2005. During the last few years many projects started production especially in flat products segment. There are also projects being considered currently for establishing new capacities and modernization of the existing capacities, which will contribute balancing Turkey’s flat and long steel production consumption structure.
(Sourced from Commodity Online)
via Steel Guru : Turkey has become the 10th biggest steel producer globally – 227419 – 2011-09-29.
Metals: Turkey steel production and demands remains high in 2011.
Metals: Turkey steel production and demands remains high in 2011.
Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk and Turkish steelmaker Atakas Group plant to reach full rolled steel capacity of 2.5 million tons in 2012 .
Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk and Turkish steelmaker Atakas Group plans to have $2.5 billion in sales in 2012 .
The Magnitogorsk and Atakas companies started producing hot rolled coils at the $2.1 billion plant near Iskenderun in southern Turkey on May 2011 .
Turkey ranked as the 10Th biggest steel producer in the world in 2010. In the first quarter of 2011, Turkey produced 7.9 million tons of steel to an annual increase of 31 percent.
Turkey’s melting production capacity reached 42.7 million tonnes in 2010 from 19.8 million tonnes in 2000, up by 115 %.
Capacity increase on a year on year basis was around 12 % in 2010. Ongoing investments will bring Turkey’s melting capacity to 45.5 million tons at the end of 2011.
The Iron, chrome ore, ferrochrome and steel industry is the third largest exporting sector in the Turkish economy and one of the major driving forces for Turkey’s export capacity.
Turkey is one of the biggest exporters of steel products and the world’s leading exporter of Rebar.
In 2010 Turkey exported $12.2 billion dollars steel products.
The Middle East , European Union and US is Turkey’s most important steel export destination.
Demand for steel products in industrial sectors , construction, automotive, mechanical engineering, white goods is growing in Turkey.
Albanian_Minerals is increasing production row materials for steel to supply growing demand from Chinese and Turkish companies for chrome ore and Iron ore.
prices of iron ore and chrome ore are expected to rise
