BIR World Mirror on Ferrous Metals / Quarterly report - July 2014

PRESIDENT'S OPENING REMARKS
by Christian Rubach, TSR Recycling

Dear friends and colleagues,

I can still hear the words of analyst Christopher Plummer of Metal Strategies Inc. as he addressed our recent Ferrous Division meeting in Miami: “The best has yet to hit the market.” According to Mr Plummer, more than 60% of the steel-consuming markets worldwide are still more or less below their pre-crisis levels of 2008/09.

Although I very much appreciate his optimistic words, I fear that the recovery in our markets is still on a very slow path. Nevertheless, recovery is on its way.

Scrap demand is growing in most countries worldwide and economic forecasts are positive. Still missing from our markets, however, are strong demand signs from, for instance, China, India and Turkey.

Unless that happens, we will remain on that slow path. Steel scrap exports to China have tended to be at the lower end for some 15 years, India is hoping for impetus from its new government and a question mark continues to hang over Turkey (...)

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