Changing dynamics of Flat Steel Industry has led to increase in competition among some of the primary manufacturers of Flat Steel products. TATA Steel & Bhushan are strengthening their presence in Ludhiana market. TATA Steel which has produced 3 MnT of HRC between April & December, 2013 has increased its marketing activities in Ludhiana market. Its total production of Flat steel was 1.48 MnT in third quarter of 2013. A comparison with its competitor SAIL is shown below.
|
Production of HRC & CRC |
Companies |
Oct’13 |
Nov’13 |
Dec’13 |
Q3 TOTAL |
|
HRC |
SAIL |
380 |
260 |
320 |
960 |
|
TATA |
360 |
310 |
440 |
1,110 |
|
|
CRC |
SAIL |
39 |
47 |
55 |
141 |
|
TATA |
97 |
55 |
89 |
241 |
Qty in ‘000 tones
Source- JPC
Ludhiana is one of the major trading hubs for Flat Steel products in North region. The cycle manufacturing industry and auto ancillary industries are good consumers of Flat Steel Products. Apart from this, the machine tools and agricultural equipment manufacturing companies also add to the demand for Flat Steel products in this region. According to market experts , Punjab consumes approximately 80,000-1,00,000 MT of Flat Steel products per month.
TATA Steel has introduced multiple initiatives to strengthen its distribution channel. As per traders based in Ludhiana, TATA has always initiated steps to protect its dealers, thereby securing its supply chain. Through its ‘AdvantEdge Plus Rewards Programme’, it has closely connected with its Key Account Customers (KAC) and distributors. It is constantly servicing to its Clients needs through its strong dealer network which is an advantage for TATA in this region.
Bhushan Steel, another major producer which has a presence in North market is investing heavily to strengthen its supply chain in Ludhiana. As per SteelMint sources, it is planning to step up its marketing activities by increasing its channel sales. It is recently constructing a 15,000-16,000 square feet (approx) Stockyard in Ludhiana to cater to the burgeoning market of Ludhiana.
Amidst these strong initiatives from companies like TATA & Bhushan, SAIL has seen some tough competition in this market. TATA has been strengthening its focus in the North market by increasing its inventories; however, inventories for SAIL in Ludhiana remained lower as compared to TATA.
As per market participants, the slowdown in demand seen in the local Flat Steel Industry is expected to be over soon. Additional expansion of capacities by some of the prime Flat Steel producers has led to increasing optimism from the traders Community.
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