Salzgitter plans price hikes in all product groups

Salzgitter plans price hikes in all product groups

Salzgitter is preparing price increases in its three main steel product groups – strip, sections and plate - and suggests the latter two will climb by €20-30/tonne ($29-43/t).
For sections from its Peine mill, the German group announces an increase of €25/t on base prices with immediate effect for deliveries from 1 October 2009.
The increase reflects increased capacity usage at Peine’s revamped rolling mill, a spokesman says. It does not include potential changes in the scrap surcharge, he adds.For sections, it was not possible to achieve price increases for the third quarter. The spokesman blames sluggish demand for the products due to a standstill in infrastructural construction projects. “The government’s incentives have not taken effect in construction yet, unlike in the car industry,” he tells Steel Business Briefing.
For plate, the company will lift prices by €20-30/t for products rolled in the fourth quarter. Its Ilsenburg mill is loaded up until October, it says. For basic plate grades, some increases could also be achieved in the third quarter, it adds.One plate market observer confirms to SBB that “basic grades will go up in price,” but notes that higher qualities might be confined to “stability, but with a trend upwards.”
Germany’s other quarto plate makers, Dillinger Hütte and ThyssenKrupp, are refraining from making announcements.
For strip, Salzgitter says it is experiencing strengthened orders from the automotive industry, and has announced an as yet undisclosed price hike for the fourth quarter.( http://hectorhec.jimdo.com )
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