High nickel price hits stainless steel demand
A
MEPS (International) product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Mar 4, 2005
Substitution in the stainless sector is adversely affecting nickel demand, according to MEPS Stainless Steel Review.
The high and volatile prices of the alloy metals that go into stainless steel are causing massive problems for both producers and consumers.
Nickel of course is the chief culprit; its price during last year ranged from a peak of almost US $18,000 per tonne to a low of around US $10,500 per tonne.
The high cost of nickel-bearing stainless is prompting users to consider alternatives and, in some cases, to switch to other - cheaper - materials.
Anecdotal evidence of a significant change in stainless consumption patterns has now been confirmed by statistics from the Japan Stainless Steel Association.
Japanese domestic demand for stainless flat products in 2004 rose by 5.8% to 1.28 million tonnes.
Add in export sales, and the mills' total order intake reached 1.72 million tonnes - the highest for a decade.
However, the JSSA figures show that orders for nickel-bearing 300 series products decreased by 4.4%, while those for nickel-free 400 series jumped by almost 21% year-on-year.
China has also been using much larger volumes of low-nickel 200 series products to substitute more expensive 300 grades; although there now has been some retracing of steps.
European stainless mills have also reported end-users switching to lower-cost nickel-free or low-nickel specifications.
Some customers may have quit stainless entirely.
The reduction in Japanese sales of 300 series stainless last year represents a loss of about 3900 tonnes of nickel consumption.
Japan accounts for roughly 10% of total stainless demand.
If this pattern were repeated worldwide, then global nickel consumption would be quite significantly reduced.
Recently, the LME price of nickel exceeded US $16,000 per tonne for the first time in five months.
Many industry analysts expect demand to exceed availability this year.
However, if nickel-free stainless continues to take market share away from 300 series, things may change.
On the supply side new projects, such as Voisey's Bay in Canada, and Goro and Koniambo in New Caledonia, are now limbering up.
Stainless producers say they think a "reasonable" level for nickel would be US $10,000/11,000 per tonne in the medium term.
Under the impact of increasing substitution and growing supply, this may become a reality sooner than many had expected.
Not what you're looking for? Search the site.
Google Ads
Contact MEPS (International)
Related Stories
- Parker opens new store in Gillingham
- National Instruments - latest company news
- Our new lead generation service!
- Schaeffler - latest company news
- Leuze Electronic - latest company news
Articles by product category
- Consultancy and Services (903)
- Machine Building (4,517)
-
Engineering Design Software (6,179)
- Engineering Design Software (12)
- 2D CAD software (200)
- 3D CAD software (1,157)
- FEA and structural analysis software (369)
- Fluid, thermal, noise, vibration software (334)
- Simulation, modelling, validation software (914)
- Rendering, visualisation, styling software (196)
- Materials design and moulding design software (151)
- Process, instrumentation, automation software (258)
- Electrical design software (164)
- Publishing and documentation software (229)
- Maths, charting, statistics, QA software (317)
- Data, document management software (310)
- CAM, CNC, production management software (568)
- File conversion software, data capture (351)
- PLM and collaboration software (649)
-
Drives, Motors and Controls (3,361)
- Drives, Motors and Controls (1)
- Precision Motors and Gears (411)
- Industrial Drives/Controls (1,276)
- Linear Drives and Motors (114)
- Industrial Motors (497)
- Stepper and Servo Drives, Motors, Controls (1,060)
- Small Mechanical Components, Joining, Tools (1,975)
-
Control and Instrumentation (5,028)
- Plantwide control (1,324)
- Plant- and Machine-Wide Communications (1,174)
- Smaller-Sized PLCs (387)
- CNC and Motion Controllers (184)
- Mid-range and Large PLCs (201)
- Power Supplies, Uninterruptible Power (562)
- HMIs/Operator Interfaces (294)
- Logic Controllers, Timers and Relays (96)
- Cabling, Conduit, Signal Conditioning (806)
-
Monitoring, Measurement and Quality (5,459)
- Monitoring, Measurement and Quality (1)
- Data acquisition Software and Communications (494)
- Data Acquisition Hardware and PC I/O Boards (472)
- Electrical and Electronic Testing, PAT Equipment (630)
- Form/co-ordinate, optical, vision instruments (703)
- Gauges, Indicators and Instruments (440)
- Data loggers (422)
- Materials testing equipment (421)
- Telecomms/network test equipment, software etc (154)
- Testing and Calibration Services and Information (500)
- Testing, analysing and monitoring equipment (1,222)
-
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Design (4,160)
- Batteries, chargers and circuit protection (555)
- Connectors, Terminals, Busbars, Slip Rings (679)
- Enclosures and Equipment Cooling Fans (709)
- Knobs, Handles and Enclosure Hardware (420)
- PCs and Embedded Systems (798)
- Electrical and Electronic Subassemblies (369)
- Electrical and Electronic Components (630)
-
Materials and Processing (2,963)
- Materials and Processing (5)
- Materials and components (2,215)
- Rapid Prototyping (458)
- Materials processing and testing (285)
-
Engineering Industry News, Resources (6,093)
- Engineering Industry News, Resources (4)
- Engineering Business News, Views (388)
- Engineering Exhibitions, Events (562)
- Engineering Conferences (425)
- Engineering Seminars (400)
- Engineering Industry Developments, Awards (633)
- Engineering Guides, Newsletters (349)
- Engineering Recruitment, Employment (219)
- Engineering Training Courses (433)
- Engineering Education, Resources, Standards (838)
- Engineering Industry Reports, Surveys (597)
- Electronic Resources for Engineers (278)
- Health and Safety Legislation (402)
- Health and Safety Strategy, Risk Assessment (113)
- Health and Safety Consultancy, Software (175)
- Health and Safety Events, Training, News (277)
-
Powertrain Design (3,598)
- Powertrain Design (2)
- Bearings (939)
- Chains and belts (326)
- Gears, brakes, couplings and engines (1,441)
- Hydraulic Components (471)
- Lubricants (418)
-
Capital Equipment (3,387)
- Capital Equipment (1)
- Manufacturing Machinery and Plant Equipment (468)
- Production line blowers and fans (62)
- Compressors and Air Treatment (510)
- Electronics Manufacturing, Tools, Instruments (192)
- Electrical hardware (131)
- Machinery and Production Equipment (1,093)
- Robotics, Handling and Storage (930)
-
Sensors (7,080)
- Sensors (8)
- Accelerometers and Vibration Sensors (427)
- Loadcells, Force Sensors, Torque Sensors (699)
- Pressure sensors (621)
- Flowmeters and Flow Sensors (618)
- Level Sensors and Leak Detectors (527)
- Linear Position Sensors (399)
- Rotary Position, Tilt and Angular Sensors (546)
- Proximity Sensors (700)
- Gas, Chemical, Radiation, Magnetic Sensors (284)
- Humidity and Environmental Sensors (152)
- Temperature sensors (612)
- Vision and Colour Sensors (1,384)
- Barcode Sensors (103)
- Valves, Pumps, Process Hardware (3,623)
