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Mobile WebSiteThe shortage of raw materials is sweeping the global manufacturing industry! America lacks steel, Europe lacks resin
Demand is recovering, but the supply of raw materials is seriously insufficient, and the global manufacturing industry "cannot cook without rice."
The U.S. lacks steel
In the past year, the epidemic has been overcast, and many US steel mills have stopped production, and the US steel industry has suffered a lot.
Until the current demand for automobiles, trucks, household appliances and other steel products has recovered to a certain extent, the output of American steel mills has begun to slowly increase.
In the second quarter of last year, the capacity utilization rate of American steel mills once dropped to 56%, and it is now even 75%, but it is still far below the level of 82% in February last year. The same is true for steel shipments: it has increased, but it is not as good as the same period last year.
At the same time, data from the US Census Bureau showed that in the last quarter, the number of uncompleted steel orders in the United States reached the highest level in five years, and inventories were at a low point of nearly three and a half years.
In terms of prices, the benchmark US hot-rolled steel price reached US$1,176/ton this month, the highest level in at least 13 years. Since August last year, US steel prices have risen by more than 160%.
As a result, many parts and components manufacturers in the United States have not only fallen into a situation where there are orders and no raw materials, but the soaring steel prices have also caused their material costs to soar. Some companies' steel costs have nearly doubled in the past six months.
IHS Markit PMI survey data shows that the US factory paid price index in February was the highest since 2011, and the finished product price index was the highest since 2008.
According to the current situation, digesting costs or passing on costs has become a new problem facing manufacturers.
European resin shortage
Wall Street's experience mentioned in yesterday's article that due to the shortage of supplies in the United States, the price of polymer resins used to make plastics in Europe has risen to a six-year high, which has caused European plastic product manufacturers to face a serious crisis.
According to ICIS data, since December last year, the price of polyethylene and polypropylene, the most commonly used plastic resins in the European market, has risen by more than 25% to 1,500 euros per ton, the highest level since 2015.
This has a major impact on European plastic product manufacturers: If prices continue to rise, the additional costs faced by manufacturers may be passed on to supermarkets, other retailers and consumers.
At present, the shortage of polyethylene raw material supply in Europe is mainly caused by the supply interruption in the United States.
ICIS analyst Will Beacham said that the long-term interruption of power and raw materials caused by freezing and icy weather has severely hit the normal production of chemical plants and refineries in the Gulf Coast region, resulting in a shortage of supply in the industry.
Blizzard in Texas, the United States, has currently caused the closure of 90% of the polypropylene production capacity in the United States and 67% of the ethylene production capacity, which has caused severe supply shortages in the European market, which is heavily dependent on US imports.
It is worth noting that due to insufficient supply of plastic products, some overseas vaccine manufacturers may stop production as soon as April.
According to previous reports, including the new crown vaccine developed by companies including BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, the production process requires a giant plastic bag for mixing drugs as a sterile lining.
Due to the shortage of such plastic bags, some vaccine manufacturers are only one step away from stopping production.
Novavax CEO Stanley Erck has publicly called on major manufacturers not to stock up on such bags. He said that Novavax can only store enough bags until April. If the supply cannot be met by then, the factory will stop working, and solving the bag supply problem is "very complicated" .
Global shortage of chips
One of the most important problems facing the global manufacturing industry today is the "lack of cores."
From cars to smartphones to game console manufacturers, everyone complains, this may be the most serious chip shortage crisis in several years.
Affected by this, almost all car companies in the world have failed to obtain enough chips to produce cars.
Due to the lack of parts, the sales of some new high-end iPhones and the production capacity of new-generation game consoles such as Sony’s PS 5 have also been hindered.
Recently, the earthquake in Japan and the snowstorm in the United States have further aggravated the tight supply of chips.
The 213 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan led to the urgent supply of photoresist, which is a key consumable for chips in about 80% of the market led by Japanese companies. The production and overseas supply of major suppliers including Shin-Etsu were blocked. Shin-Etsu also announced the closure of the factory.
Photoresist is a necessary key consumable for fab production. With the supply of photoresist in a hurry, the shortage of chips may become more serious.
A snowstorm in the United States caused power outages in many places in Texas, resulting in the temporary closure of many local fabs.
Article information source-Chinese screw net
