World stainless steel output up 12,5% in Q3

STEEL


By: Esmarie Swanepoel
6th January 2010




World stainless steel production started to show a recovery in the third quarter of 2009, with most regions increasing their output in the three-month period, the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) reported.

Third quarter stainless steel output increased by 12,5% to 7,06-million tons, when compared with the same period of 2008.

However, production volumes for the first nine months of 2009 reflected the volatile economic conditions of the year, with output decreasing by 15%. According to preliminary figures released by the ISSF this week, global stainless steel production fell to 17,9-million tons in the nine-month period, compared with 21,07-million tons a year earlier.

In 2007, global stainless steel output was 27,8-million tons, which decreased by 1,9-million tons in 2008 to 25,9-million tons.

Excluding China, stainless steel production in Asia was five-million tons in the first nine months of 2009, which was a year-on-year decline of 23%, owing to lower output in India and Japan, while production remained flat in Korea and Taiwan.

Stainless production in China was 6,6-million tons in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of 19,1% on the same period of 2008. The ISSF reported that China accounted for almost 37% of the world’s stainless production. At the end of the third quarter of 2008, China’s market share was 26%.

The Western Europe/Africa region produced 4,6-million tons of stainless during the first nine months of 2009, a decrease of 31,5%. Production also declined in the Americas region to 1,5-million tons, a 22,9% drop on the same period of 2008.

The volume of stainless produced in the Central and Eastern Europe region dropped by 38,23% to 0,2-million tons for the period.

The ISSF reported that more austenitic stainless were produced in the period, while production of ferritic stainless had declined because of a global drop in automobile manufacturing, which accounted for a large volume of chromium stainless.

The market share of chromium-manganese stainless steels has decreased over the course of 2009 owing to the recovery of stainless steel production outside China.

Edited by: Mariaan Webb

Slow Growth for Consumer Injection Molding

Market Outlook

Slow Growth for Consumer Injection Molding
By Bart Thedinger, Mastio & Company


Mastio & Company’s most recent Injection Molding Markets Study forecasts slow growth in the next two years for injection molded appliances, furniture, housewares, and consumer electronics/telecommunications. Collectively, these market segments consumed 1.87 billion lb of injection molding resin in 2007. They are expected to reach 2.04 billion lb by 2010, representing an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 2.9%. (Mastio’s forecast for other molded consumer products appeared in November. See Learn More box.)
Not only is growth slow, but profit margins are slim in this uncertain economy. Cost hikes for raw materials, energy, transportation/shipping, and labor are all squeezing profits. Imports, government policies, and consolidation in the retail sector have also kept profits low over the past few years. In particular, manufacturers have had a tough time passing on the rising costs of raw materials, and most have had to absorb as much of the cost as they can.
The health of these consumer molding markets is determined primarily by consumer confidence and the housing market. Although housing is in a slump, the 11.4 million homes that were built in the 1970s now require improvements, repairs, and updating. Remodeling should encourage the need for new housewares, furniture, appliances, etc.


SPEED TO MARKET
Resin consumption for injection molded housewares is expected to see only 2.7% AAGR through 2010. Plastic housewares are typically smaller, inexpensive, high-volume, low-margin products and thus are facing heavy pressure from imports. However, foreign housewares suppliers are at a disadvantage when it comes to identifying emerging trends in North American consumer demand. Domestic consumers expect an array of colors, styles, and textures, as well as improvements in durability and functionality. Foreign suppliers are much slower to the market with new products, giving domestic producers an advantage.

FURNITURE ON TOP
The furniture market is expected to experience the highest growth with an AAGR of 4.2%. This growth is attributable to a trend toward home remodeling and the increasing popularity of home offices. Lower labor costs and price cutting have made it difficult for furniture producers in the U.S. and Canada to compete with the Far East. However, furniture manufacturers claim that imports don’t affect large injection molded furniture items because of high shipping costs. One processor admitted to “China-proofing” its furniture products by making them bulky and hard to stack, implementing frequent color changes, and adding material-saving technology such as gas-assisted molding.

APPLIANCES & ELECTRONICS
Growth opportunities in appliances follow new residential housing construction, which stagnated in 2007 and 2008. Thus, the appliance market anticipates only a 2.5% AAGR through 2010.
A sluggish AAGR of 2.9% is also expected for consumer electronics and telecommunications. New technologies and product innovations are the name of the game when it comes to keeping demand afloat. Examples include advances in cell phones, thin, large-screen plasma or LCD televisions, and computer monitors that can receive digital, high-definition (HDTV) formats.

About the Author

Bart Thedinger is managing partner of Mastio & Company in St. Joseph, Mo., a consulting firm specializing in industrial-consumer opinion research and market trends in the plastics industry. For more information, call (816) 364-6200 or visit www.mastiogale.com

source:http://plasticsnews.com

Current Issue : Nissan Electric Car

Nissan to unveil first mass produced electric car on Sunday

By: Irma Venter
30th July 2009
TEXT SIZE



Japanese vehicle manufacturer Nissan will unveil its first mass-produced electric vehicle, due for launch in Japan and the US next year, on Sunday.

The five-door hatchback will have a range of 160 km before it would need recharging, says Nissan South Africa product engineering division vehicle test group manager Paul Gurney.

The vehicle is scheduled for its European debut in 2011, with the suitable global markets to follow in 2012.

Japanese production of the vehicle - its name remaining a secret - will start at 50 000 units a year, with other possible global production sites being scouted.

Gurney says the emphasis has been on developing a "valid vehicle" delivering a solid performance, with sales not necessarily driven by an environmental agenda, even though it is a zero-emission vehicle.

The vehicle makes use of an on-board computer to advise the driver on remaining battery (lithium-ion) range - with recharging happening overnight at a simple wall-plug or dedicated en-route station - as well as on the location of the nearest recharge station.

Gurney says Japanese fuel cost on a comparable internal combustion vehicle will come to around R600/month for a 1 000 km drive-distance, with the electric vehicle offering a recharge bill of roughly R120/month for the same distance

Nissan South Africa brand and corporate communications GM Pat Senne notes that South Africa may only receive the Nissan electric vehicle once certain measures are in place, such as recharging infrastructure, incentives, and once consumers have been educated on the use of such vehicles, which spells a radical shift from checking a fuel gauge.

The Japan launch will go hand-in-hand with government incentives, such as tax reductions, which will see the price of the much more expensive electric vehicle drop to equal that of a standard vehicle.

"Nissan South Africa is busy working with the Department of Trade and Industry on the concept of zero-emission vehicles," says Senne, unwilling to divulge more information.

Nissan has already signed partnership agreements with around 30 government bodies for the introduction of its electric vehicle worldwide. South Africa is not included in this number.

These agreements set the framework for the incentives necessary to make the launch of the electric vehicle viable.

Signatories include Singapore, Israel, Portugal, the US state Tennessee, Denmark and China.

Nissan South Africa product engineering division GM Fumio Uchiyama says the cost of the electric vehicle should reduce once economies of scale step in, and once battery technology improves.

The battery is the most expensive component of the vehicle.

Nissan has a target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from its vehicles by 90% by 2050.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter