'Weeks, months' to reopen Baltimore waterway: professor
It could take weeks or even months to clear debris and reopen the waterway under the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a engineering professor at the nearby Johns Hopkins University.
As of Wednesday, there was no official timetable for the reopening of the Port of Baltimore after a major highway bridge over the Patapsco River was hit in the early hours of 26 March by a container ship and collapsed, with the debris and ship blocking the waterway.
"I'd be shocked if it's weeks, but I don't think it'll take even a year" to clear the waterway, structural engineer and Johns Hopkins professor Benjamin Schafer said Wednesday. He expects the rebuild of the bridge to take significantly longer.
"I've lived through quite a few civil infrastructure projects and they're rarely less than 10 years. So I think that's what we're looking at," Schafer said.
He noted that it took five years to build the original Francis Scott Key Bridge and seven years to repair the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, after a similar collapse in 1980.
Still, "this is definitely not a national supply chain crisis," John Hopkins operations management professor Tinglong Dai said Wednesday. "The effect will be mostly local, mostly minimal and mostly temporary."
The bridge collapse and port closure is also unlikely to trigger a global supply chain crisis, he said. The Port of Baltimore is an important but "niche" port specializing in automobile imports and exports, Dai added.
"The supply chain has evolved...I have already seen a lot of rerouting happening."
Automakers started adjusting their supply routes away from the top port for US vehicle imports the day of the collapse, including General Motors, Ford and Mercedes-Benz.
Baltimore is also a major port for coal exports, which may start to shift to terminals to the south in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Freight rates for ships that carry coal could see increases in global markets
Other commodities like asphalt and caustic soda that move through the port will see challenges, while organic agriculture imports may see less problems due to seasonal flows.
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Blast furnace works cut S Korea's Posco 2Q steel output
Blast furnace works cut S Korea's Posco 2Q steel output
Singapore, 26 July (Argus) — South Korean steelmaker Posco reported lower crude steel output and sales in the second quarter because of refurbishments at its Pohang blast burnace, but a higher operating profit. Posco's crude steel production dropped to 8mn t over April-June, from 8.66mn t in the first quarter and 8.85mn t a year earlier, the company said in an earnings call on 25 July. Sales volume also dipped to 7.86mn t, from 8.23mn t in the previous quarter and 8.48mn t a year earlier. The firm's utilisation rates fell to 79.1pc in the second quarter, from 85.6pc in the first quarter and 87.3pc a year earlier. Posco began maintenance and modernisation of its No.4 blast furnace at Pohang in late April, which has a capacity of around 5.3mn t/yr. But production resumed at the end of June, raising its scrap consumption as reflected in its resumption of regular weekly purchases of Japanese scrap after a three-month halt. The group's combined steel revenue, including Posco and overseas steel facilities, stood at 15.4 trillion won ($11.1bn) in the second quarter. This was largely steady from the previous quarter but down from W16.5 trillion a year earlier. Combined steel operating profit stood at W497bn in the second quarter, up from W339bn in the first quarter, but less than half of W1 trillion a year earlier. Posco reported higher mill margins as the cost of raw materials dropped and sales price increased. But overseas upstream operations reported losses given an influx of cheap imports into the southeast Asian market and lower sales prices. Battery, other expansion plans Revenue from secondary battery unit Posco Future M fell by 20pc on the quarter and 23pc on the year to W915bn. Operating profit stood at W3bn, down from W38bn a quarter earlier and W52bn a year earlier. Posco, while citing a difficult battery materials industry over April-June, said during the earnings call that it is "closely monitoring demand fluctuations." The firm will pace its investment, but it will "not lose out" on any opportunity to invest in essential resources such as lithium whose prices have "hit rock bottom." Posco flagged the approaching US presidential election and shifting strategies of major automakers as factors that will continue affecting the EV supply chain. This was echoed by South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution , which expects global EV market growth to come in at slightly over 20pc this year, down from 36pc a year earlier. Posco's first domestic lithium hydroxide plant, located at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Gwangyang, with a capacity of 21,500 t/yr aims to start full operations in February 2025. It will be operated by Posco-Pilbara Lithium Solution, a joint venture between Posco and Australia's lithium miner Pilbara Minerals. The company also expects to finish building a second plant at the same location with similar capacity in September whose full operations will begin in September 2025. Its Argentinian lithium operations will have a total capacity of 50,000 t/yr in the near term, split between phase 1 and phase 2, which will start full operations in April 2025 and June 2026, respectively. Trading firm Posco International also reported that the final stage 4 expansion of its Myanmar offshore gas field will start in July, with about 4mn t/yr of By Tng Yong Li and Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
South Africa adopts climate change law
South Africa adopts climate change law
Cape Town, 25 July (Argus) — South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the country's climate change bill, which sets out a national response to climate change for the first time. The new climate change act will enable the orderly reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the implementation of sectoral emission targets towards South Africa's commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Currently, the country is the 15th largest GHG emitter in the world, according to the World Resources Institute. The law provides policy guidelines to ensure South Africa reaches its nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris climate agreement by assigning individual enterprises carbon budgets and facilitating public disclosure of their progress. In its updated 2021 NDC, the country has undertaken to cut its GHG emissions to 350mn-420mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), equivalent to 19-32pc below 2010 levels, by 2030. The lower end of this range is in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C global warming threshold. To meet this, South Africa will have to achieve a steep decline in coal-fired electricity generation. A carbon tax is seen as a vital component of the country's mitigation strategy, according to the president. "By internalising the cost of carbon emissions, carbon tax incentivises companies to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in cleaner technologies, and also generates revenue for climate initiatives," Ramaphosa said. South Africa's carbon tax was introduced in a phased approach in June 2019 at a rate of 120 rands/t ($7/t) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) and increased to R134/t of CO2e by the end of 2022. But tax-free allowances for energy-intensive sectors such as mining, and iron and steel, along with state-owned utility Eskom's exemption, implied an initial effective carbon tax rate as low as R6-48/t of CO2e. South Africa's National Treasury is targeting an increase to $30/t of CO2e by 2030. But the extension of phase one from the end of 2022 to the end of 2025, together with an uncertain future price trajectory and lack of clarity on future exemptions, means the effective carbon tax rate is likely to remain well below the IMF's recommended $50/t of CO2e by 2030 for emerging markets. The new climate change act seeks to align South Africa's climate change policies and strengthen co-ordination between different departments to ensure the country's transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy is not constrained by any policy contradictions. It outlines South Africa's planned mitigation and adaptation actions aimed at cutting GHG emissions over time, while reducing the risk of job losses and promoting new employment opportunities in the emerging green economy. The law also places a legal obligation on provinces and municipalities to ensure climate change risks and associated vulnerabilities are acted upon, while providing mechanisms for national government to offer additional financial support for these efforts. The new act formally establishes the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) as a statutory body tasked with providing advice on the country's climate change response. Among other things, the PCC is developing proposals for a just transition financing mechanism, for which a platform will be launched in the next few months. Over the last three years, South Africa has seen an increase in extreme weather events often with disastrous consequences for poor communities and vulnerable groups. To address the substantial gap between available disaster funds and the cost of disaster response, the government announced in February that it would establish a climate change response fund. At the time of the announcement, Ramaphosa reiterated that South Africa would undertake its just energy transition "at a pace, scale and cost that our country can afford and in a manner that ensures energy security". Elaine Mills Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
London, 25 July (Argus) — The European Commission soon could initiate a dumping investigation on some exporters selling into the 'other countries' quota for hot-rolled coil (HRC), according to multiple market sources. The 'other countries' quota in recent quarters has consistently filled rapidly upon resetting, and this pressure has been intensified by rising Chinese exports since August of last year. Some key 'other countries' sellers have seen the volumes they take from China balloon as a result. Vietnam bought more than 4.2mn t from China in the first six months of this year, compared with about 6mn t in the whole of 2023. China's increased exports has sparked talk that both India and Vietnam may start anti-dumping duty investigations. When announcing its 15pc cap on countries selling into the 'other countries' quota, the commission specifically alluded to the increase in Chinese exports affecting trade flows. Vietnam, Egypt, Japan and Taiwan are by far the largest sellers into the 'other countries' quota, and all of the countries initially exceeded their 141,849t cap quickly when the new quotas took force on 1 July. In April, before the cap was implemented, these four countries amounted for more than half of the 1.4mn t imported by the EU. The 'other countries' quota has essentially been reduced from 940,000 t/quarter to less than 600,000 t/quarter given the new cap. Sources suggested duties could be applied retroactively if the commission finds that material has been dumped. They also suggested it could be difficult to show dumping in some countries, such as Vietnam and Egypt, where domestic prices are often below export levels. A leading producer was gathering information on Egyptian cargoes arriving at EU ports in recent months, a trading firm said. The commission refused to comment on any potential investigation. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BayWa suspends 2024 profit forecast over restructuring
BayWa suspends 2024 profit forecast over restructuring
London, 25 July (Argus) — German agricultural group BayWa on Wednesday suspended its full-year profit forecast due on 8 August, citing ongoing restructuring. It posted a preliminary revenue of €10.7bn ($11.6bn) for the first half of the year, down by 15pc from €12.6bn a year ago. BayWa's first-half 2024 preliminary earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stood at €149.5mn, less than half of the €322.1mn earned in the same period last year. BayWa said it continues to be in constructive talks with its financing partners, adding that it also has postponed publication of the final half-yearly results to 27 September, citing impairment reviews. The company commissioned a restructuring report on 12 July in response to a "strained financing situation". The Munich-headquartered BayWa Group operates in the fields of energy, agriculture — including fertilizers — and building materials. By Suzie Skipper Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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