Metal Industries Little Affected by Typhoon In-Fa

SHANGHAI, Jul 27 (SMM) - Henan is still under the disastrous impact of the floods, and typhoon “In-Fa” has swept many regions in China, including Shaoxing, Zhoushan, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Suzhou. Metal industry, as well as a wide range of other industries across the country, have been affected by the typhoon. SMM has investigated and analysed the impact on the metal industries.

Latest typhoon impacts:

Heavy rains will fall in east and north Henan in the next three days

According to Henan meteorological news, under the combined influence of the outer cloud system of In-Fa and the eastward westerly trough, there will be heavy precipitation in the eastern and northern regions of Henan Province from the during July 26-29. Heavy rain is expected to fall in some areas to the east of the Beijing-Guangzhou line, some areas will see downpour or heavy downpour with strong convective weather such as short time heavy rainfall and gale.

In-Fa landed on Zhejiang for the second time, storms and tides to hit east China

According to the National Meteorological Centre, typhoon In-Fa landed on Zhejiang Province at a severe tropical storm level for the second time at around 9:50 am on July 26. The maximum wind force near the centre was 10 (28 m/s), and the lowest air pressure in the centre was 978 hPa. East China areas including Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Jiangsu may be hit by wind, rain, and tide in the next few days amid the astronomical tide period.

Rainfall in Yuyao, Zhejiang broke the extreme value

According to Zhejiang Meteorological Centre, the accumulated rainfall at Dingjiafan Station in Dalan Town, Yuyao reached 951 mm from 8:00 July 22 to 6:00 July 26, breaking the extreme value of the measured rainfall during the landing of typhoon in Zhejiang. It is expected that there will still be downpour to heavy downpour in Yuyao, and some areas will have extraordinary heavy downpour.

Many high-speed trains suspended in the Yangtze River Delta

In order to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property and make sure of the safe railway transportation, China’s railway department decided on the evening of the July 25 to suspend some high-speed trains throughout the day on July 26. The suspended railway lines include Shanghai-Nanjing section on Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway (excluding South Nanjing station), Danyang-Shanghai section on Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed railway, Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway, Shanghai-Sutong high-speed rail way (excluding Nantong hub), East Hangzhou-Xuancheng section on Henan-Hangzhou high-speed railway (excluding Xuancheng), and Hangzhou-Huangshan high-speed railway.

Government to initiate a national emergency response to the typhoon In-Fa

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, the National Disaster Reduction Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently initiated the national level IV emergency response on July 25 to the disasters caused by In-Fa in Zhoushan, Shaoxing, Ningbo and other places in Zhejiang. The previously dispatched working group was assigned as a disaster relief working group to check the disaster situation on the spot, to guide and assist the local governments to rescue the citizens from the disaster. On July 25, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration once again allocated the central disaster relief materials to Henan Province, in order to to support the local governments in carrying out basic livelihood guarantees, such as the transfer and resettlement of the affected people.

Impact on metal industry

Copper: In-Fa has limited impact on copper processing enterprises, with the transportation slightly impeded. The companies in Huzhou, Taizhou, and Ningbo maintain normal production. Copper companies in Shanhgai are still in suspension, expected to resume production on July 27.

Aluminium: Most aluminium processing enterprises (including aluminium extrusion, die-casting, plate, strip, foil, cables, etc) in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai maintain normal production in the typhoon. The transportation is slightly restricted.

Lead: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai are the main consumption areas of lead ingots, and the production and spot transportation of downstream battery companies has not been affected.

Zinc: In-Fa mainly affects the zinc die-casting companies in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Many companies have water inflow and production suspension, and 2-3 days of output is reduced. Xinghua City required all plants with furnaces to halt production from July 23 to 30, but there are fewer alloy companies in Xinghua, so the affected output will be limited. The galvanising and zinc oxide industries are little impacted. Only the transportation in Hangzhou will be slightly restricted.

The market participants in Shanghai are less willing to purchase zinc in typhoon, and premiums have shrunk.

The market has shifted the quotations to over September contracts.

Market inquires are scarce in Ningbo, as the downstream companies have been affected to varying degrees by the typhoon. Holders are less enthusiastic in making quotations. The overall market trade is thin.

Tin: The upstream production of tin industry is mainly concentrated in southwest China, and downstream companies mainly lie in Guangdong, none of which has been affected by In-Fa.

Nickel: As the main production capacities of ferrochrome are located in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places, the production has not been affected by the typhoon.

Steel: Steel plants are little affected by the typhoon. A few EAF mills in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have low operating rates recently, and they have reduced or suspended production in the adverse weather. Traders in Zhejiang basically go to work normally. Some traders in Shanghai and Jiangsu work from home for a day. Due to the extreme weather, business transactions in the market are generally flat. All building material warehouses in Shanghai have stopped loading and unloading, and most warehouses in Hangzhou have also stopped operation. Warehouses in other areas have stopped loading and unloading to varying degrees based on the impact of the typhoon. A large number of construction sites in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu have been suspended to prevent wind and rain damage, and the impact on manufacturing companies is relatively insignificant.

Coking coal and coke: The regions swept by In-Fa mainly have the subsidiary coking plants of steel plants, which are little affected by the typhoon. However, a coal mine in Handan, Hebei suspended production due to the heavy rain on July 24 and 25, driving up the local coal prices by 100 yuan/mt. The prices in Tangshan and Xingtai rose by 40-50 yuan/mt. The heavy rain also affected the shipments of coking coal.

Petroleum coke: The transportation of petroleum coke may be slightly impeded, but the production will remain normal.

New energy: Some cobalt smelting, processing, and battery companies in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have been affected to varying degrees by the heavy rainstorms. The cobalt salt production capacity in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will account for 36% all national capacity in 2021, and the ternary precursor production capacity will account for 15% of the country's total capacity. The transportation of some companies have been impeded, likely to resume normal on July 27-28. The overall deliveries are expected to be delayed by about 2 days.

Rare earth: The typhoon has very limited impact on rare earth permanent magnet manufacturers. Some companies in Yuyao, Zhejiang and Yinjiang, Ningbo have delayed shipments for 1-2 days, and some companies have a day off.

Silicon: Most silicon plants are located in inland areas, and have not been affected by In-Fa. Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas are downstream consumption areas of silicon metal. Most of the enterprises are producing normally, and the transportation is slightly restricted, but the overall impact is not significant.