Padnos acquires three Midwest metal recyclers

Spanish Market: Metals
12/09/24

Metal recycler Padnos has acquired three businesses in Michigan and Indiana, the company said Wednesday.

The Holland, Michigan-based company purchased the Sam Winer and Company scrap yard in Elkhart, Indiana, Howe Auto Sales in Bay City, Michigan, and Grandpa's Garage in Traverse City, Michigan.

Grandpa's Garage is located next door to Padnos' Traverse City facility, allowing the company to expand that location.

Financial details of the transactions were not disclosed.

Padnos now operates 30 recycling facilities in Michigan and Indiana.

By James Marshall

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

30/12/24

Viewpoint: Cu smelting capacity to outpace mining

Shanghai, 30 December (Argus) — The global copper concentrate market will likely remain tight in 2025, as an expected rise in copper smelting production capacity is set to outpace new copper mining projects and expansions. Argus expects 2.8mn t/yr of copper smelting capacity to come on stream next year, with 1.25mn t/yr of this coming from China and 1.55mn t/yr from the rest of the world. Major Chinese copper producer Tongling Nonferrous plans to launch two copper smelters in the second half of 2025, with a combined production capacity of 800,000 t/yr. The firm's 500,000 t/yr Tongling Jinxin smelter is expected to start up in the middle of 2025, pushed back from an initial launch date of the end of this year because of tight supply of copper concentrate feedstock. And the firm's 300,000 t/yr Tongling Jintong smelter is projected to start operations in October, with 200,000 t/yr of refined copper and 100,000 t/yr of copper anode production. But the company has not confirmed if it has secured enough copper concentrate to support either project. Major Chinese metals producer Guangxi Jinchuan Nonferrous is expected to begin operations at its new smelter at the end of this year, with a copper anode output capacity of 300,000 t/yr. And fellow domestic company Huading Copper finished building a new 100,000 t/yr refined copper project in November, according to market participants. Elsewhere, Indian conglomerate Adani launched a 500,000 t/yr smelter earlier this year and is expected to steadily ramp up to production capacity by 2026. Indonesian mining company PT Amman had planned to launch a 200,000 t/yr copper smelter in the fourth quarter of this year. US-based firm Freeport's Indonesian subsidiary is projected to resume production at its 300,000 t/yr Manyar smelter in the third quarter of 2025 after the facility was brought off line following a fire in October. And a 500,000 t/yr blister copper smelter at the Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to begin production in February. Supply growth Growth in copper concentrate supply next year is expected to mainly come from expansion projects at existing mines, with 1.2mn t/yr of additional mining capacity in the pipeline, according to Argus calculations. The first phase of Russia's Malmyzh mine is due to start operations in 2025, with a copper production capacity of 150,000 t/yr. Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi mine will continue ramping up production next year, in a bid to lift its copper output to 500,000 t/yr by 2028 from 168,100t in 2023. And the commissioning of Kamoa-Kakula's phase 3 in August 2024 will lift copper output at the mine to 600,000 t/yr in 2025 from 450,000 t/yr previously. Two mining expansions in Chile are expected to boost global copper production next year. Australian mining group BHP is scheduled to lift copper cathode output at its Escondida mine to 410,000 t/yr over a 10-year period, having produced 198,600t in the July 2023-June 2024 fiscal year. And Chilean copper producer Codelco's El Teniente mining project is due to increase copper output to 500,000 t/yr by 2025 from 245,500 t/yr in January-September. Lower utilisation rates But mining supply growth may be insufficient to meet the additional demand from new and expanded smelting capacity, meaning global copper smelters will likely have to reduce their utilisation rates to 70pc in 2025 from 75pc this year, according to industry forecasts. "The Onsan copper smelter in South Korea is likely to cut its output by 100,000t to 550,000t for 2025, because of concentrate supply tightness," a trading company told Argus . Some Chinese smelters have already cut production capacity in response to tight copper concentrate supply or because of accidents at their facilities. "Liaoning Shenghai Copper, Guangxi Nanguo Copper, Baiyin Nonferrous, Chifeng Fubang Copper and Daye Yangxin Hongsheng have suspended operations, removing a combined 1mn t/yr of production capacity," a trader said. Extended talks over 2025 benchmarks Annual benchmark talks between Chinese smelters and representatives from Chile-based mining firm Antofagasta for copper concentrate supplies in 2025 were subject to long delays. Major Chinese smelter Jiangxi Copper and Antofagasta finally settled their treatment and refining charges for copper concentrate supplies for 2025 on 5 December, at $21.25/t and 2.125¢/Ib respectively, down from $80/t and 8.0¢/Ib in 2024, according to market participants. Chinese copper smelters and overseas concentrate suppliers usually agree charges during the Asia Copper Week conference, which was this year held in Shanghai over 13-14 November. But settlements were delayed to early December because of the two sides' significant differences in price ideas. Antofagasta quoted $10/t for treatment charges in the first round of negotiations, but smelters bid $45/t and conceded to $35/t, market participants told Argus . New copper mining capacity/expansions '000 t/yr Mine Location Capacity Start-up Oyu Tolgoi Mongolia 300 2025-28 Kamoa DRC 150 3Q24 Kansanshi S3 Zambia 55 mid-2025 El Teniente new mine level Chile 170 1Q25 Comide DRC 40 end of 2025 Malmyzh Russia 150 2025 Escondida Full Sal Chile 200 3Q24-2Q25 Tongling Non-Ferrous Mirador II Ecuador 75 Jun-25 Salvado Rajo Inca Peru 90 late 2024 Total 1,230 — Argus New copper smelter capacity '000 t/yr Smelter Location Capacity Start-up Tongling Jintong Copper Inner Mongolia, China 300 Oct-25 Yunnan Copper relocate Yunnan, China 50 late 2024 Guangxi Jinchuan Guangxi, China 300 end of 2024 Tongling Jinxin Copper Anhui, China 500 mid-2025 Huading Copper Inner Mongolia, China 100 2025 Adani India 500 2024-26 Freeport Indonesia Indonesia 300 3Q25 PT Amman Indonesia 200 4Q24 Kamoa-Kakula DRC 500 Feb-25 Kansanshi S3 Zambia 55 mid-2025 Total 2,805 — Argus Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Singapore extends electric vehicle incentive to 2027

30/12/24

Singapore extends electric vehicle incentive to 2027

Singapore, 30 December (Argus) — Singapore has extended the incentive for electric light commercial vehicles under its Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES) to 31 March 2027 from 1 April 2025. Incentives for more pollutive vehicles will also be scrapped or their surcharges raised, under the CVES. This is part of efforts to push for the adoption of cleaner commercial vehicles. The country's CVES categorises vehicles based on their "worst-performing pollutant". The S$15,000 ($11,060) CVES incentive for Band A, which includes mainly electric vehicles, has been kept unchanged at S$15,000, according to a joint statement by the city state's Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Environment Agency (NEA). The S$5,000 incentive for Band B, which includes mainly petrol vehicles, will be scrapped, while the surcharge for Band C, which includes mainly diesel vehicles, will be raised from S$15,000 to S$20,000. "These changes are in line with the government's vision to have all vehicles run on cleaner energy by 2040," the LTA and NEA said in their joint statement on 30 December. Singapore will be halting new registrations for diesel cars and taxis from 2025, it said in July. Existing diesel cars will also be subject to higher road taxes. The country's Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) for heavy commercial vehicles, which promotes the replacement of older, more pollutive diesel commercial vehicles and buses by providing a discount when switching to cleaner-energy vehicles, will be extended to 31 December 2025. There were 11,941 battery electric cars in Singapore as of end-2023, which constituted just 1.8pc of its 2023 car population of around 651,300 units. The figure for petrol-electric hybrid cars, excluding plug-in vehicles, was much higher at 79,256 as of the end of 2023. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: US stainless recovery expected in 1H

27/12/24

Viewpoint: US stainless recovery expected in 1H

Houston, 27 December (Argus) — US finished and scrap stainless steel market participants are cautiously optimistic for 2025 because of low inventories, waning imports and expected policy changes when president-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. The stainless steel market expects a challenging early start to 2025 before a rebound later in the first half of the year, as renewed demand from the oil and natural gas sector combines with low inventories and potential Trump policies. US stainless meltshop production in the first half of 2024 totaled just over 1mn metric tonnes (t), up from the atypically low 2023 levels of roughly 940,000t, according to data from World Stainless. These figures are well below prior years with the US averaging about 1.18mn t in the first half of 2021 and 2022. The market has struggled to hit its full stride in 2024 as consistent finished imports and falling nickel prices undercut the market. Flat rolled coil ex works US prices for 304 declined to $1.60-1.77/lb for December shipments, compared with $1.68-1.86/lb a year earlier. Still, this trend could soon stabilize and begin to reverse. Sources estimate US service center finished stainless steel inventory levels for both flat rolled and long bar products are at lows last seen in 2021, a time when US demand was still crimped from the Covid-19 pandemic. Service centers have kept unusually low inventories because of a mix of moderate demand and higher-than-usual interest rates raising end-of-year accounting costs. Weaker service center demand has subsequently capped scrap generation, limiting how low US mills can push their raw material costs for new scrap. Average US stainless steel scrap 304 solids prices have held within a tight 2¢/lb spread of 56.5-58.5¢/lb since early August as falling generation rates ran up against lower demand. The incoming Republican administration has fostered an atmosphere of optimism among market sources, who expect Trump policies will support the domestic industry by cutting oil and gas permitting restrictions, shifting US spending away from overseas investments and broader deregulation of American businesses. Trump has also proposed a myriad of tariffs, including specifically targeting China and the US' largest trading partners — Canada and Mexico. US imports of flat rolled stainless of any size climbed by 22pc to 404,000t in 2024 so far, according to US customs data. Mexico contributed roughly 7pc of these volumes, while Indonesia — home to multiple Chinese stainless mills — contributed 8pc of US imports. By raising import costs, US producers could in theory make up some of this difference. Stainless producers will likely have to raise prices as a result of tariffs, following a year with far fewer base prices adjustments. Long producer Universal Stainless raised base prices only once in 2024 compared to five times in 2023. Nickel-scrap disconnect widens US mills have offset the persistent weak demand by tweaking the nickel payable — the percentage of the price of nickel they are willing to pay for nickel recovered from scrap — each month since April. The nickel payable rate reached a historic low of 42-43pc in 2023, before rebounding. Although up from historic lows, nickel payable has decreased from 57-59pc in March of this year to 50-54pc for procurements in November. At these lower levels scrap is more disconnected from the movements in the nickel market. Some market participants still remain concerned, chiefly over slowing growth in China, which consumes nearly 50pc of the world's nickel. China has ramped up production of nickel largely in Indonesia in recent years to service the growing electric vehicle market. Market conditions in Europe also continue to undercut demand. Spanish stainless producer and owner of US-based North American Stainless, Acerinox, highlighted in its third quarter results that the European manufacturing sector is undergoing a "drastic contraction". It added that while destocking efforts were completed at the time, demand remained weak. By Pete J Stavretis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Indian FeCr to face pressure in 1Q 2025

27/12/24

Viewpoint: Indian FeCr to face pressure in 1Q 2025

Mumbai, 27 December (Argus) — India's ferro-chrome market is expected to remain under pressure in the first quarter because of muted spot demand as a result of sluggish stainless steel consumption. Producers will likely keep ferro-chrome output low in the coming months. The market is widely expected to remain sluggish until after the lunar new year holiday in February. There is little to no optimism that spot liquidity and supplier profit margins will increase in the short term, because demand from the stainless steel industry is weak. Prices for Indian high-carbon ferro-chrome 60pc fluctuated significantly in 2024. Prices hit a high of 120,000-121,000 rupees/t ($1,400-1,415/t) ex-works on 21 February, bolstered by tight ore availability and rising feedstock costs. But weak demand for stainless steel, both locally and globally, kept many market participants on the sidelines, causing prices to fall sharply in April-August, reaching Rs102,000-104,000/t ex-works on 20 August. Prices have since remained around this level, with the Argus assessment on 12 December at Rs104,000-106,000/t. Low demand from the stainless steel sector has effectively removed any possibility of a price recovery in the near term. Spot liquidity has been markedly lower than normal and a rebound is not expected. Volumes signed on long-term contracts for delivery in 2025 have also taken a dip and are at around 70-80pc of the volumes signed in 2023 for 2024 delivery. Weaker ferro-chrome demand and prices have led to lower production. India's ferro-chrome output declined from 1.3mn-1.4mn t in 2023 to an estimated 1.2mn t in 2024, and monthly consumption in the country is estimated to have decreased from 30,000-35,000t to 20,000-25,000t. Consumption is unlikely to rebound significantly until global and local stainless steel demand recovers. Suppliers typically turn to the export market when there is a supply surplus, with exports from India typically accounting for around 50pc of the country's output. But India's ferro-chrome exports are also falling. Shipments declined by 38pc year on year to 402,817t in January-September, compared with 648,475t over the same period a year earlier. Macroeconomic headwinds have dented global demand for stainless steel, and in turn ferro-chrome. European and Chinese demand was high in the first half of 2024 but has slowed significantly since then, with European buyers shifting their focus towards cheaper Kazakh material. Increased freight rates, port congestion and higher production costs have further weighed on exports. In addition, China has increased production and its domestic output now exceeds domestic consumption. This has weighed on domestic prices since August and increased supply in the export market. The market is unlikely to pick up until ferro-chrome inventories at China's port are consumed, a source told Argus . Decreasing demand and prices have made some suppliers' margins negative, forcing some to cut output by 50-60pc and others to shift their focus to producing manganese alloys, which offer stronger margins despite higher production costs. The cost of production for high-carbon ferro-chrome in India is around Rs116,000-119,000/t ex-works. Only producers with their own captive chrome ore mines are making a profit at present, sources said. Indian ferro-chrome suppliers also face issues with deteriorating chrome ore grade, which has led to increased production costs and lower-quality ferro-chrome output. The deterioration in ore quality is particularly evident in state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) auctions — the premium for OMC's 50-52pc ore over its 48-49.99pc ore rose to above Rs1,000/t in early December. The higher premiums for high-grade ore, coupled with the drop in demand, have limited ferro-chrome producers' appetite to participate in OMC's auctions, as supply of high-grade ore is limited and only available at high premiums while low-grade ore is unfavourable as its consumption raises production costs. A lack of interest in OMC's monthly tender boosted this bearish sentiment and created further downward pressure on India's ferro-chrome prices. By Deepika Singh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Real, tariffs to hit Brazil steel imports

26/12/24

Viewpoint: Real, tariffs to hit Brazil steel imports

Sao Paulo, 26 December (Argus) — Steel importers in Brazil are likely to face a tougher market in 2025 as government measures and the Brazilian real's depreciation to the US dollar make products from abroad less attractive. Brazilian steel importers are concerned that tariff-quota and antidumping policy changes made this year by the federal and state governments could raise costs for importing cargoes in 2025, likely exacerbating the impacts of a sharply depreciated Brazilian real relative to the dollar. The concerns come as US president-elect Donald Trump is already raising global trade tensions, with specific focus on Mexico, Canada and China, that could unleash waves of dueling trade measures. After seeing strong import growth in the post-Covid-19 recovery, Brazil steel importers are fretting they may lose momentum. Brazil's steel imports year-to-date November rose by nearly 24.4pc to 5.6mn metric tonnes (t) from the same period a year earlier. They are expected to end the full year 2024 up by 24pc, according to steel association Aco Brasil, after climbing by 50pc in 2023. Apparent consumption rose by 9.6pc to 24mn t in the 11 months through November, while production increased by just 5.6pc to 31.17mn t from a year earlier. Even with a 28pc depreciationof the real to the dollar in the 12 months through 24 December, prices for dollar-denominated steel imports still have a cost advantage over domestically produced steel. But that advantage is narrowing as the real weakens, with the price difference from imports over the domestic market narrowing to just $112/t in the latest assessment for hot-rolled coils (HRC) from $172/t in mid-October . "The dollar's [appreciation to the real] is messing up imports," one market participant told Argus , saying a wider price advantage for importers was necessary to offset issues like the exchange rate risk and the shipping time. Market participants also cited rising borrowing costs in Brazil as an additional challenge for imports, as many buyers rely on financing to purchase material from abroad. Brazil's central bank on 11 December unexpectedly hiked its target interest rate by a full percentage point to 12.25pc , citing the country's uncertain fiscal situation, accelerating inflation and challenging external conditions. Importers recently expressed concerns over Santa Catarina state's decision to no longer grant tax incentives for imports of six different steel and iron products for commercialization or resale in 2025. Although the timeline for implementing the measure was postponed to July and could face changes, importers remain concerned and are monitoring any possible reviews of the decision, sources told Argus . Santa Catarina's main port, Sao Francisco do Sul, accounted for over one-third of every steel product that is imported to Brazil from January to September, according to data from the country's distributors association, INDA, published in September. On the federal front, the government is likely to announce new and renewed antidumping measures for products coming mainly from China, Brazil's largest steel supplier. Another obstacle for importers would be a possible review of the tariff system for steel imports, which was implemented in June 2024 and led to additional tariffs of up to 25pc. The measure proved mostly ineffective at curbing imports into Brazil, and the industry group Aco Brasil said it would ask for adjustments . Despite the challenges, there is still room for importers to bring material to Brazil , as the country lacks steel to supply its domestic demand, another market participant said. "Brazil will always need imports because it still lacks some key home-made products to feed its market," the participant said. By Carolina Pulice Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more