Indian bulk HRC export shipments recorded a sharp increase of 212% in May’20 and stood at around 746,479 MT based on the data of 20 ports maintained by SteelMint. This is the highest monthly export shipment recorded so far as per the data maintained with SteelMint. In Apr’20, export shipments were recorded at 239,215 MT.
Company Wise HRC export volumes in May’20
| Particular | Vietnam | China | UAE | Others | Total |
| Tata Steel | 97,800 | 1,28,135 | 30,000 | 95,750 | 3,51,685 |
| JSW | 57,500 | – | 30,000 | 98,114 | 1,85,614 |
| AM/NS | 60,000 | 38,000 | 7000 | 36,800 | 1,41,800 |
| Others | 67,380 | – | – | – | 67,380 |
Source: SteelMint Research
Key Reasons
— Indian mills increase their capacity utilization to 80-85% in May against 30-40% in April’20
— Domestic demand continues to remain subdued as most of the states are still in lockdown mode. This has resulted in a higher allocation for exports.
— Indian auto companies are operating at a lower utilization level and gradually resumed operations by the end of April but with 20% capacity utilization due to supply constraints and a slump in demand.
— Chinese traders actively booked HRC from India on rising Chinese steel futures and attractive offers from Indian mills.
Outlook- We expect June numbers to be at similar levels of May. There are supply-demand imbalance and mills will have significant allocations for exports in July and August. The market is expecting domestic demand to pick up from September.
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