BIR world mirror Non-Ferrous May 2010

Archiv – BIR | The following article is based on the latest Non-Ferrous World Mirror produced by the BIR world recycling body for the benefit of its members.
Customs officials in China are scheduled to introduce a new regulation known widely as Rule 21 with effect from June 1. Intended to prevent cases where the higher-value component of a mixed load is under-declared, this will require the different items to be packaged when loaded in the same container. At the same time, importers must declare each item by weight and number of packages.BIR | The following article is based on the latest Non-Ferrous World Mirror produced by the BIR world recycling body for the benefit of its members.
Customs officials in China are scheduled to introduce a new regulation known widely as Rule 21 with effect from June 1. Intended to prevent cases where the higher-value component of a mixed load is under-declared, this will require the different items to be packaged when loaded in the same container. At the same time, importers must declare each item by weight and number of packages.
Since Chinese importers are also under pressure from high levels of duty and VAT, the regulation is seen as adding another weight to their burden. According to feedback from non-ferrous scrap exporters, these additional restrictions on multi-load containers are creating ’confusion’ which has slowed the flow of material to China.
From India, the news for scrap exporters has been more positive: after prolonged discussions with industry representatives, the government has agreed to re-classify normal metal scrap as non-hazardous. It is hoped that this move will smooth the flow of scrap into the country at a time when consuming industries – including automotive, construction and IT – are enjoying significantly improved business conditions. Demand for aluminium scrap has been particularly strong from secondary smelters.
In South Africa, meanwhile, the issue of the moment is an apparent increase in scrap metal thefts: whole containers of copper scrap have reportedly been stolen from container depots or while in transit after loading. Feedback from the same country reflects the continuing tightness of scrap supplies.
Meanwhile, collection volumes in the USA have improved thanks to seasonal factors and to recent increases in ferrous scrap values. Elevated ferrous prices have also led to higher production of Zorba, of which the price has declined significantly because export demand is insufficient to absorb this increased supply.
The Middle East is reporting healthy copper scrap demand out of the Far East as well as some orders from Europe for high-grade material such as Millberry. Middle East ingot-makers’ demand for secondary aluminium scrap has been stimulated by premiums paid by Indian end users. Also in this region, lead scrap and remelted ingots have been available in decent quantities.
According to feedback from Italy, the non-ferrous scrap sector is confronted with an ’explosive mix’ of material shortages, low demand and pressure on margins, with the result that domestic market conditions have gradually worsened following a few positive months. Orders within the EU have held relatively steadily but interest from buyers in China and in the Far East has gone into decline.
There has been a further drop-off in the availability of the higher grades of copper scrap, it is added, while the secondary aluminium market in Italy is enjoying plenty of new orders and a decent flow of scrap at low prices. Meanwhile, the country’s stainless steel industry is working at full capacity, with distributors increasing their order levels in expectation of stainless steel price increases for the next quarter.
Stainless steel consumers in France are also whipping up strong demand for scrap but sourcing sufficient material remains a problem for them. By contrast, consumers of the country’s soft lead scrap appear to be well stocked and are struggling to sell their ingot production.
In Russia and other CIS countries, the trend is to hang on to domestic non-ferrous scrap arisings rather than exporting them even to other countries in the region. Indeed, it is suggested that copper smelters in the Urals, north-west Russia and the Volga region are ’fighting for every tonne of scrap’.
In the UK, aluminium ingot prices have continued to gain ground in response to rising scrap prices, with material said to be generally available to consumers ’with good credit insurance’ whereas some smaller producers are understood to be struggling to obtain raw material. A recent softening in the scrap price is expected to persist as car factories prepare for their summer breaks.
Recent analyses have underlined the fragility of the economic recovery in parts of Europe. In Germany, for example, a poll conducted by the federation of German metal traders (VDM) indicated that barely half of the companies questioned (52%) had felt some post-recession improvement in market conditions. Only 24% of the companies were expecting metals demand to grow during the second quarter of 2010. Two-thirds of the firms described supply of scrap as difficult.
Among the Nordic Countries, Finland is expected to recover from negative growth of -7.8% in 2009 by recording positive growth of 2-2.5% in the current year. For the other countries, earlier growth forecasts have been revised upwards to between 2% and 3.5% for 2010. Industrial order books are improving throughout the region but growth figures are still thought likely to remain relatively low in the coming months.