Fast-Rising Steel Prices Set Back Big Projects
2008年05月16日09:30
随着钢材价格持续上涨，全球范围出现大型建设项目和造船、油气勘探等项目投资被推迟或放慢进度的情况，这或许会给钢铁生产商造成冲击。
Relentless increases in the price of steel are halting or slowing major construction projects world-wide and investments in shipbuilding and oil-and-gas exploration, setting the stage for a potential backlash against steelmakers.
土耳其的一家建筑协会本周表示，周四将在8个城市举行为期15天的大罢工，目的是向钢铁生产商施压，要求他们降价。土耳其的钢材价格自去年底以来已上涨了一倍以上。
In Turkey, a construction association said this week it will begin a 15-day strike in eight cities Thursday to press steelmakers to cut their prices, which have more than doubled locally since late last year.
在印度新德里，一个大型桥梁计划已告搁置，原因是钢材类成本大大超出承受能力，同时，面向贫困人口的住宅建设项目也被承包商推迟或压缩，他们希望由此敦促印度政府在接下来的3个月遏制钢材价格。
In New Delhi, India, an ambitious bridge project has been put on hold because of steel-related cost overruns, and contractors are postponing or reining in construction of much-needed housing for the poor, prompting the Indian government to freeze steel prices for the next three months.
为控制钢材价格，委内瑞拉对其最大的钢铁企业重新实行了国有化，并将限制出口。与此同时，美国石油业人士表示，钢材价格居高不下影响了他们的油气勘探计划。
Venezuela, aiming to control prices, renationalized its largest steelmaker and is limiting exports. Oil executives in the U.S., meanwhile, say costly steel is threatening their energy exploration efforts.
从全球范围来看，目前的钢材价格较12月份已上涨了40%-50%，但行业管理人士称，钢价还未达到顶峰。周三，全球最大钢铁企业安赛乐米塔尔(ArcelorMittal)将欧洲吨钢价格上调20%，达到120欧元（合186美元）。该公司称，涨价原因是，无论是铁矿石还是能源、运输等各方面的成本都在增加。
Globally, steel prices are up 40% to 50% since December, and industry executives say they haven't hit their peak. On Wednesday, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker by volume, boosted prices by 120 euros ($186), or 20%, a metric ton in Europe, citing increases in its own costs -- from iron ore to energy and transportation.
该公司首席执行长莱克施密?米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)在电话会议上向记者表示，我们目前还没作出钢材价格触顶的预期，目前我们只看到生产成本每个月都在增加。
'We have not yet seen that prices have peaked, what we have seen is the costs increasing every month,' said ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal on a conference call with reporters.
铁矿石价格今年上涨了71%，钢铁生产的另外两种重要原料焦炭和废钢的价格也翻了一番。这波涨势与由于供应紧张和全球需求上涨导致的原材料价格普遍上涨的大趋势是一致的，这在一定程度上是受中国、印度和其他发展中国家快速工业化的推动。
Iron-ore prices have risen 71% this year. Two other crucial steelmaking ingredients, coking coal and scrap steel, have doubled in price. The run-ups are part of a broader surge in raw-materials prices amid tight supplies and soaring global demand, fueled in part by the rapid industrialization of China, India and other developing nations.
安赛乐米塔尔周三表示，一季度其利润达到23.7亿美元，较去年同期的22.5亿美元增长5.4%。受新兴市场销售强劲增长，其总销售和交货量均大幅上升。
ArcelorMittal said Wednesday that its earnings grew 5.4% to $2.37 billion in the first quarter from $2.25 billion a year earlier. Both sales and shipments grew sharply as the Luxembourg-based company sold more steel in emerging markets.
世界各国对钢材的巨大需求目前并无退潮的迹象。以土耳其为例，一家新造船厂建成后每年将需要10万吨钢材。虽然美国经济疲软，但其钢材需求也在上升。
The world's voracious appetite for steel shows little sign of easing. In Turkey, a new shipyard, once completed, will need 100,000 tons of steel a year. And demand in the U.S. is rising, despite a sluggish economy.
虽然目前钢铁生产商握有定价权，但他们也担心，一段时间后，高价格将损害他们的销售。安赛乐米塔尔首席财务长阿迪亚?米塔尔(Aditya Mittal)在另外一次电话会议上向记者表示，价格将对需求产生影响，这对钢铁企业来说不是好事情。
While still in a position of pricing power, steelmakers are concerned that over time, their high prices will affect sales. 'There will be impact on demand, and that is not a good development for the steel industry,' said Aditya Mittal, chief financial officer of ArcelorMittal, on a separate conference call.
在此局势下，钢铁企业开始采取措施降低成本。为规避原材料涨价的影响，越来越多的钢铁企业自己收购矿山和煤矿或资源储备区，甚至收购废钢企业。全日铁(Nippon Steel Corp.)及日本其他钢铁公司本月宣布，将加快行动削减成本，可能采取的措施包括裁员及开发价格较低廉的钢材替代品等。
As a result, steelmakers are taking steps to cut their costs. To shield themselves from higher raw-material prices, more of them are acquiring their own iron-ore and coal mines or deposits, as well as producers of scrap steel. Nippon Steel Corp. and other Japanese steelmakers announced this month that they would accelerate cost-cutting efforts, which could include layoffs and developing cheaper steel substitutes.
钢铁行业也在进行整合，这将有利于生产商提高效率，获得规模效益，最终实现更稳定的定价，减少企业数量，扩大企业规模。近几个月，印度的Tata Steel Ltd.和Essar Steel Holdings Ltd.，以及俄罗斯的Evraz Group SA和瑞典的SSAB Svenskt Stoal AB都进行了大规模并购。即便如此，世界最大五家钢铁企业的产量仍只占全球钢铁总产量的18%。
The industry is also consolidating, which should allow producers to become more efficient and gain economies of scale that could ultimately result in more pricing stability and fewer, larger players. In recent months, India's Tata Steel Ltd. and Essar Steel Holdings Ltd. have made major acquisitions, as have Russia's Evraz Group SA and Sweden's SSAB Svenskt Stoal AB. Even so, the world's top-five steelmakers still account for just 18% of the world's steel supplies.
一些钢铁企业也在研究降低产品成本的新方法，以防止客户转而使用铝或高强度塑料等价格较低的替代品。芬兰不锈钢生产商Outokumpu Oyj研制出了一种降低不锈钢中镍含量的新方法，此法可以降低产品成本。Outokumpu Oyj主要生产用于制造家用电器的钢材。
Some steelmakers also are experimenting with ways to make their products less expensive, in an effort to keep customers from switching to less-expensive substitutes like aluminum or high-strength plastics. Finnish stainless-steel maker Outokumpu Oyj, which makes steel for appliances, has come up with a way to reduce the nickel content of its stainless steel to make it cheaper.
不过除非这些变化能立稳脚跟，否则钢铁价格很可能会继续上涨。
But until such changes take hold, steel prices will likley continue to increase.
建筑商最近提醒地震多发国土耳其的官员说，钢铁价格的不断上涨已经刺激一些承包商使用价格和等级较低的钢材，而这会威胁到建筑物的质量。
Builders recently warned officials in Turkey, which rests in an earthquake zone, that rising steel prices have prompted some contractors to use cheaper, inferior-grade steel, threatening the quality of their buildings.
与此同时，一些国家通过设立出口壁垒而囤积钢材。上周，印度开始对出口钢材征收15%的关税。国内钢铁产量不能满足本国需求的国家则大幅降低进口税，以便吸引更多的钢铁进口。上个月，伊朗宣布将把房屋和道路用钢筋的进口税从20%下调至9%。
Some nations, meanwhile, are hoarding steel by erecting export barriers. Last week, India imposed a 15% duty on exported steel. Countries that don't make enough of the metal are slashing import taxes in an effort to attract more. Last month, Iran announced it was lowering its import tax on rebar steel, used in new buildings and roads, to 9% from 20%.
钢铁价格的高涨也在影响从造船到能源开发等各个行业。需要大量高等级钢板的造船厂受到冲击，分析人士表示，钢铁供应问题正在使造船进度减缓，尤其是在韩国的大宇造船(Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.)这类中小型船厂。
The impact of high steel prices is rippling through industries from shipbuilding to energy exploration. Shipbuilders, who buy vast quantities of high-end plate steel are getting hammered, and analysts say steel-supply problems are slowing the pace of construction, especially at smaller shipyards like South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.
四月份，荷兰皇家壳牌有限公司(Royal Dutch Shell PLC)的一位管理人士对美国众议院一个委员会表示，钢铁和其他原材料的成本妨碍了寻找新能源矿藏的工作。据大型能源研究公司Cambridge Energy Research Associates称，这些成本对油气公司来说是一项严峻挑战，致使很多项目延期完工或是推迟启动。石油公司需要用钢铁来制造钻井设备和管道。
In April, an executive of Royal Dutch Shell PLC told a House committee that steel, which is needed to make drilling equipment and pipelines, and other raw-material costs were hampering efforts to find new energy sources. These costs 'are a major challenge for oil and gas companies and are contributing to the delays and postponements of many projects,' according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a leading energy-research company.
甚至是手机用户最终都可能会感觉到影响。无线运营商NTCH Inc.的开发经理埃里克?斯坦曼(Eric Steinmann)表示，该公司每年约建造100座手机通讯塔，去年建造通讯塔的钢铁成本涨了一倍，每座涨到了大约3万美元。
Cellphone users could eventually feel the pinch. Eric Steinmann, development manager at wireless carrier NTCH Inc., which operates under the Clear Talk brand, says steel costs for each of the about 100 cellphone tower poles his company builds annually doubled to about $30,000 last year.
美国钢铁制品生产企业Trinity Products Inc.的老板罗伯特?格里格斯(Robert Griggs)表示，他告诉自己的客户说只能保证两个星期内价格不会涨上去。他说，去年钢材价格每吨涨100美元用了6个月的时间。现在一个月就能涨这么多。该公司生产用于桥梁的钢管和钢筋。
Robert Griggs, owner of Missouri-based Trinity Products Inc., a maker of steel pipes, tubes and rebar for bridges, said he tells his customers he can only guarantee prices for two weeks. Last year, it took six months for steel prices to rise $100 a ton, he said. Now, prices are moving that much in a month.
对钢铁买家来说，转而使用低成本的材料也非易事。对汽车和家用电器的冲压和喷涂设备进行相应改造需要数年时间，它们目前都是针对钢铁材料设计生产的。而且铝和特种塑料等其他替代品的成本也在上升。
Shifting to lower cost materials isn't an easy option for steel buyers, either. It takes years to retool auto and appliance stamping and dye machines, currently engineered for steel products. Also the cost of alternatives, such as aluminum and certain plastics, is increasing.
Robert Guy Matthews
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