FERROUS
59recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2022
prosect of improvement with HRC
prices at their lowest for a year.
Jens Björkman, who chairs IREPAS’s
raw material suppliers committee,
says US scrap demand has slowed
and producers are running at slightly
lower capacities, pressuring scrap
and iron ore prices. The supply of
new production scrap, which was pre-
viously in good shape, has been
slower. In China, Björkman notes,
demand for steel and raw materials
has been weakening, with the out-
look remaining negative despite a
significant stimulus.
LOW UTILISATION
Joost van Kleef, Europe, chairman of
BIR’s stainless steel and special alloys
committee, also believes the recession
is causing major concerns for stainless
steel producers. ‘This is a challenge
faced by most industries, to which we
A U T H O R Robin Latchem
can add the influence of a record level
of imports of finished goods, particu-
larly in the stainless steel sector,’ he
writes in the latest BIR Mirror.
Van Kleef notes that producers are
witnessing one of the sector’s lowest
FORD SIGNS UP TO LOW CARBON STEEL IN EUROPE
Ford in Europe has announced agreements with Salzgitter Flachstahl, Tata
Steel Nederland and ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe to secure supplies of low
carbon steel for future new vehicles. Initially, Ford plans to use the steel
for the production of its new electric medium-sized crossover vehicle,
starting in 2023.
Reducing CO2 emissions throughout Ford’s supply chain is seen as a key
element in its plan to target carbon neutrality across facilities, logistics and
suppliers by 2035. It has also committed to a 10% use of carbon-neutral
steel by 2030. The move coincides with Ford joining First Movers
Coalition, a global initiative by the World Economic Forum, to harness pur-
chasing power and supply chains to create early markets for innovative
clean energy technologies.
Sue Slaughter, purchasing director, supply chain sustainability at Ford,
says: ‘Improvements within our supply chain are key, and with the use of
carbon neutral steel we will take a major step towards lowering the CO2
footprint of our vehicles.’
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