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Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker

The new issue of the Market Tracker is now available.

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Formerly known as Coated Steels Market Tracker

Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker specializes in the in-depth analysis, statistics and forecasts of the global tinplate, pre-paint and galvanized (ELG and HDG) steel markets.   

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Your monthly 12 page report includes:

  • Assessment of transaction prices in the major regions of Americas, Europe and Asia.
  • Strategic analysis and insights into the latest market trends and developments of all key coated markets.
  • 6-month forecasts of key price movements for all major regions, separated by coated product.
  • A global tinplate market analysis with 6-month forecasts for key regions.
  • Key price movements and developments in raw material prices.

Independent data including:

  • Key regional statistics on production, shipment, trade and inventories from 2007.
  • Historical prices for HDG products from 1999, and price series from 2004 for ELG, raw materials and tinplate products.
  • Key end-user and economic indicators relating to investment, capacity and trade issues.

All subscribers are eligible for regular individual consultations with the editor of the report.

               

Robert Cartman

Robert Cartman
rejoined Metal Bulletin Research (MBR) in 2013 as a Senior Analyst and is the editor of MBR’s monthly publications on Galvanized Steel and Tinplate and Stainless Steels.

Prior to rejoining MBR, he worked the previous five years as a Consultant in the strategy consulting division of Hatch. He has a broad understanding of the special and stainless steel industry, especially from the raw materials perspective. As such, he has extensive knowledge of the supply and demand of key raw materials, such as chrome and nickel, and their uses in various industries.

He is a regular speaker at a number of industry conferences and holds an undergraduate degree in economic history from the London School of Economics and Political Science.


Market Brief


Products covered

Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker covers the wide range of steel products that are coated in one form or another, generally with either zinc, tin or polymer-/paint-based coatings. The most common products covered by this tracker include hot-dipped galvanized steel (HDG), electro-galvanized steel (ELG), pre-painted steel (PPGI) and tinplate.

Market size

Although there are a wide variety of coatings that can be applied to steel, typically so applied as means of protection and improved corrosion resistance, the market for these products is relatively small compared to that for total steel products.

Galvanized steel (that is, zinc-coated steel) is the most popular of the coated steels products, with the global market amounting to some 120 million tonnes, compared to about 1.5 billion tonnes for all steel products (2012 data). Tinplate and PPGI are considered even more as niche products, with market sizes closer to just 10 million tonnes.

Properties

Due to its anti-corrosive properties, galvanized steel is widely used in the automotive industry.  It is considered as a value-added product, as automakers often chose the best-quality CR sheet as a substrate, which is later zinc-coated before it enters the automotive production lines.

The economics of high-grade ‘auto sheet’ are somewhat different to those of more ‘commodity grade’ galvanized steel. Automakers typically negotiate for steel shipments with steelmakers on a quarterly / yearly basis so price changes are not as regular for these grades as they are for the more ‘commodity grade’ galvanized steels used by other end industries.

Adding to its tolerance against corrosion, the zinc coating also gives steels a bright and shiny look.  Because of this, coated steel is also commonly used by the construction sector, especially for visible structural parts.  Construction-orientated galvanized steel is predominantly sold on a spot basis and both CR and HR carbon steel can be used as substrate for its production.  It typically trades at a discount compared to auto-grade galvanized steel and in some cases it can even cost less than high-quality cold rolled coil – indeed, it has been able to take market share from cold rolled coil in some applications in some regions of the world.

Primary quality tinplate is one of the most commonly used materials in the food and beverage packaging industry.  The tinplate market is a heavily consolidated one, with very few producers in the core markets of the USA, Europe and Japan. The packaging industry is also heavily consolidated. Tinplate is generally traded through long-term/quarterly contracts, although there are spot markets in operation, typically in emerging markets.