2023, the year that makes people most hopeful and may also bring disappointment to many people, has come to an end. What are the highlights of 2023, which belongs to stainless steel? Once a year, Normandy Metal brings you the top ten news in the South China stainless steel market.
1. Molybdenum prices soar
After the Spring Festival in 2023, the price of molybdenum metal continues to climb steadily based on the high price in 2022. The price has reached a new high in the past fifteen years. The skyrocketing price of molybdenum has caused the prices of molybdenum-containing stainless steel 316L and 317L to also rise. my country's Qingshan Group is committed to developing stainless steel with high cost performance, high corrosion resistance and high strength. It improves the performance of stainless steel products while reducing costs. QN1906, which is 5,000 yuan cheaper than 316L molybdenum-containing stainless steel, was born.
The successful development and promotion of QN1906 and QN2109 provide customers with diverse choices in material selection. QN high-nitrogen section molybdenum austenitic stainless steel stands out for its lower alloy cost and excellent performance, and is widely favored by end customers, such as building curtain walls, sulfuric acid towers, industrial welded pipes, heat exchangers, petroleum, chemical industry and marine engineering, etc. field.
2. Qingshan Indonesia 201 Incident
Beginning in March 2023, there was news in the market that Tsingshan Indonesia will produce 201 in May, mainly J1/J4. Subsequently, on April 11, it was reported that the opening price: J1 material was US$1,260/ton. In September, there were more than 3,000 tons of Indonesian Ruipu 201 cold rolling in the Foshan warehouse. However, Tsingshan Indonesia’s 201 has not continued to be mass-produced. In Indonesia, which is rich in nickel resources, the production of 201 may not have an advantage over the Chinese market.
3. "Hongwang" brand stainless steel registered products have a new origin of Yangjiang
Hongwang Group has added a new production base in Yangjiang, adding another member to the delivery brand family. For the sake of prosperity, we will increase the chips of production, operation and sales. Market concentration and competitiveness have also been strengthened.
4. Xinfeng Special Steel launches direct sales
Xinfeng Special Steel launched the spot sales model of 304 resources in May, and promised that the delivery time of 304 steel strips with commonly used specifications will be at the warehouse within three days. Xinfeng 304 is produced strictly in accordance with "8 nickels, 18 chromium" and starts inspection standards. Steel mills pay close attention to market information and produce suitable products, from materials to services, to better serve customers.
5. J7 returns to Steel Lake to seize the pipe material market
In June, J7 reappeared on the market, following the successive large-scale sales of 304ZG and 30478 this year, which relieved the pressure on J2. It is a J2 that wears the appearance of J7 but is guaranteed to be fake. In this regard, some people believe that the defective products in J2 may have been screened out for downgrade processing, and the material was regarded as J7. In any case, it shows that the material degradation of 201 has reached an extreme level.
6. Stainless steel welded pipe factories collectively changed their stamps
In the first three quarters, pipe mills have criticized steel mills for the problem of 304 material nickel and chromium. But at the same time, people discovered that pipe factories were changing their steel seals one after another. Some 304 material elements are not enough, which also brings trouble to the majority of users. When engineering materials are initially rusted, when exported products are inspected by users and found to have insufficient ingredients... the troubles caused are particularly difficult to solve. For this reason, in order to avoid risks, pipe factories have adopted corporate standards one after another, that is, they have changed their steel seals.
7. Yongda Group’s 1780 hot rolling mill was officially put into production
The official launch of 1780 has opened up a key link for Yongda Group’s entire production line.
By August 20, the first roll of self-refined and self-rolled 304 was successfully rolled off the production line, and Yongda Stainless Steel achieved another leap.
8. New standards of India’s BIS, new obstacles for domestic exports
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has released new standards on stainless steel quality in the early stage. From September 1, so-called "substandard" stainless steel materials and appliances will be controlled. It requires imported stainless steel materials to pass BIS certification. Currently, there are only three domestic steel mills that meet the standards. Because some steel mills have expired and have not been accepted for renewal, the industry is very concerned about this.
Since stainless steel materials exported to India require BIS certification, this has caused certain interference to the export of stainless steel for some time, mainly starting from mid-to-late August. However, subsequent issues regarding BIS have been continuously updated, and India has expanded the scope of the standard to include low-nickel (content < 1%) chromium-manganese grade stainless steel. As a result, the medium frequency furnace, the main material exported to its country for a long time, has been blocked.
9. Xinfeng Special Steel and Liuzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. put cold rolling into production
In October, the first volume of Xinfeng Special Steel was successfully rolled off the production line, which is 304 material with a specification of 0.78*690*C. Judging from the feedback of multiple steel strips on site: uniform size and thickness, high surface smoothness accuracy, and good brightness. It is reported that Xinfeng Special Steel’s green high-grade cold-rolled stainless steel BA plate project has an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons.
With the successful trial rolling of Xinfeng 950 seven-continuous cold rolling and the stainless steel cold rolling project of Liuzhou Iron and Steel CICC, it marks that the stainless steel narrow strip steel mill has entered the cold rolling era.
10. Indonesian Aeon can be delivered on the previous exchange
According to news from the Shanghai Futures Exchange on December 14, in accordance with the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Steel Delivery Commodity Registration Management Regulations" and other relevant regulations, after on-site registration inspection and sampling inspection by the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the "YONG WANG" brand stainless steel produced by the company complies with the stainless steel futures of the Shanghai Futures Exchange. requirements specified in the contract.
The study decided to approve the registration of “YONG WANG” brand stainless steel products produced by PT YONG WANG INDONESIA.
Indonesian Aeon can be delivered on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, becoming the only overseas brand among the 11 registered brands of stainless steel futures that can be delivered. The addition of registered delivery brands will enrich the stainless steel delivery brands and increase the opportunities for domestic traders to perform futures operations, which will be more conducive to the hedging and price discovery functions of stainless steel futures, and the futures basis is expected to return to normal levels. However, the pressure on stainless steel futures warehouse receipts is expected to further increase at that time, and selling pressure exists, which may put short-term stainless steel futures prices under pressure.
Through sorting, it was found that the highlights of the stainless steel market in South China in 2023 are in South China, but they are not only in South China, making the stainless steel market full of vitality.
Come on, stainless steel 2024!
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