Coke, Coal and Steel markets: A look at the US, China and Brazil

14 September 2011

The 15th annual Met Coke World Summit will offer you the competitive intelligence on the coke, coal and steel markets that you need to succeed in the global marketplace. Several of our speakers shared their insights into what's happening in the United States, China and Brazil.

Interview with Catherine Luo, General Manger, Thyssenkrupp Metallurgical Products Co., LTD Tianjin, China

What is happening with Chinese coke / coal supply and demand?

At the moment hard coking supply is quite tight in domestic market, price of which has been increased lately. Coke price for domestic market increased accordingly.

How would you describe internal demand for these resources?

The internal demand for these resources remains strong, due to the big volume of steel production. Anyway we expecting growth speed of chinese economy will slow down, therefore don't see the drive of pushing raw material price further up.

It looks like Chinese coal imports where very high this July. Do you expect this trend to continue?
Yes, from mid to long term point of view, China is continuously need import of coal.

Interview with Otacilio Peçanha Filho, Managing Partner, NEGOTIARE CONSULTORES, Brazil

Are increased US [coal] exports affecting the Brazilian market?

US can be considered a natural [coal] market for the Brazilian Steel Mills (BSM), because of the abundance of coking coal, the various types of coal available and the competitive sea freight between the countries. Recently, the USA and Colombia have increased their stake in the Brazilian coking coal market. It looks like this trend have come to stay.

Are there any factors limiting Brazil coke exports?

Environmental restrictions leads us to conclude that Brazil will not be a coke exporter. Companies which are not self-sufficient in terms of blast furnace coke will continue to look for it in the international market.

Interview with Bruce Steiner, President, American Coke & Coal Chemicals Institute

Are there any climate change initiatives in the pipeline? Who is supporting them? Who is opposing them?

Legislative initiatives to limit greenhouse has emissions (GHGs) failed to gain traction in the last Congress and are now even less likely given the shift in power in the House. Congress instead is focused on energy efficiency bills. International initiatives and state or regional activities have also lost some support. Nevertheless, regulatory agencies continue to put forth rules to limit GHGs for power plants and major industry sources and are being supported by environmental groups, but the regulations are being challenged by a host of industry groups and some states,

What is the timeline for implementation?

Regulations for reporting of GHG emissions are already in place, as are GHG permitting requirements for major new sources. Requirements for existing sources and smaller new sources will become effective in the coming year or so. The outcome of legal challenges may dictate whether these regulations are upheld or timelines for implementation.


How will steel and coke producers need to change operations / technologies in order to comply with heightened air quality standards?

Apart from GHG regulations, which will continue to pressure the steel industry to develop and deploy iron and steelmaking processes less reliant on carbon (especially coal and coke), other more stringent ambient air standards for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and ozone and thier implementation requirements will make it increasingly more difficult to permit new combustion-related sources and to expand and modernize. These permitting pressures will not necessarily drive new technologies but rather will incentivize companies to expand operations in other regions of the world where requirements are not as demanding.

Will these changes / needed improvements affect prices?

Added costs to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations will unavoidably drive up prices but more importantly will have adverse impacts on the ability to compete internationally.