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Aurubis has announced that it will reduce its production capacity of flat rolled copper products by 35,000t in a restructuring process that will take place beginning from H2 2013. The group intends to transfer some of its rolling operations from Finspång, Sweden to Zutphen in the Netherlands and is also considering moving other types of production currently located at the Finspång factory to its facility in Buffalo, USA. Aurubis attributed the consolidation to structural overcapacity in the flat rolled products market and made specific mention to declining demand in the engine cooling segment.

Ural Metal and Mining Company (UMMC), a Russian vertically integrated producer of semi fabricated products, has said that it will continue its investment projects in semi-finished copper and copper alloy products despite a 6% y-o-y Jan-July decline in rolled demand this year. The company broke this figure down into its constituent segments: demand for copper pipes fell by 18% y-o-y and flat rolled products sales dropped 8% y-o-y in Jan-July. UMMC currently sells between 58,000-62,000t of rolled products per annum through its Kirov (flat rolled), Revda (flat rolled), Kolchugtsvetmet (tubes) and Majdanpek (tubes) operations. UMMC will complete its delayed 4-year investment strategy in 2013 with an upgrade of machinery at its Kolchugtsvetmet operation.

S.A. Eredi Gnutti Metalli S.p.A., an Italian copper and copper-alloy extrusions and flat rolled product fabricator, has taken over Dalmet S.p.A., another Italian company which competes in the production of copper and copper-alloy flat rolled products. Dalmet has the capacity to supply 3,000t/y of flat rolled products to the electrical, electromechanical, electronic and automotive components, ornaments, door locks and medals manufacturing markets. With this acquisition Eredi Gnutti increases its rolling and casting capacity.

Aurubis AG reported that its production of copper wirerod was down by 22% y-o-y and 14% q-o-q to reach 155,000t in Q2 2012, marking a faster decline from the 17% y-o-y fall in Q1 2012. The company said that the decrease in volumes was driven by slower demand from cable and enamelled wire producers. This came despite stronger demand from the automotive sector and signs of a pick-up in demand from the infrastructure sector in late Q2. Aurubis also produces copper and copper-alloy shapes, pre-rolled products, finished flat rolled products and speciality wire. Output of shapes fell by 25% y-o-y and 13% q-o-q to reach 41,000t in Q2, due to weak demand from semi-fabricators. However at Schwermetall, the company's 50%-owned subsidiary, production of pre-rolled strip decreased by only 5% y-o-y to reach 49,000t in Q2, as demand from semi-fabricators for this product held-up better. The year-on-year change in finished flat rolled products output was distorted by the acquisition of Luvata's rolled products division (RPD). However, volumes in the division did fall by 5% q-o-q reaching 57,000t in Q2, contributing towards across-the-board sequential declines for Aurubis' copper products output in Q2.

Following the announcement last week that several Japanese rolled copper makers are to increase their rolling margins for rolled copper products, Mitsui Mining and Smelting announced it is seeking a Y20-30 per kilogram increase in rolling margins for its brass strip and flat rolled products. This is to cover the higher costs for energy, freight and subsidiary materials and is to be implemented for loss making items, which are mainly in the brass products line. Mitsubishi Shindoh, Japan's largest copper flat rolled and strip products maker, also recently announced it was increasing its rolling margins.

Chinalco Luoyang Copper Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese semis fabricator, commenced production at its new metal clad sheet manufacturing facility in Luoyang City, Henan Province. The facility, which cost RMB150M, has the capacity to output 20,000t/y of metal clad sheet. Chinalco Luoyang Copper Co. Ltd. has three production lines: the first fabricates copper and copper alloy flat rolled products; the second fabricates copper and copper alloy tube, rod and bar; while the third is used for the manufacture of flat rolled products made from aluminium, magnesium and their alloys.

According to data from the Copper and Brass Servicenter Association(CBSA), total shipments from US brass and copper mills slipped 1.1% y-o-y in 2012, to 261.5Mlb (118,600t). Data from November had indicated that year-to-date shipments were roughly unchanged from 2011, however, a 16.9% m-o-m drop in shipments in December tipped total shipments into contraction territory for the year. In general, copper semis shipments were stronger than alloy shipments, with copper rod shipments up 8.3% in 2012, to 64.4Mlb (29,200t). Total alloy shipments fell 5.4% in 2012, to 139.6Mlb (63,300t), with 300-series alloy RBS shipments declining by the largest amount in the year, falling 11.9% to 61.3Mlb (27,800t).

According to Aurubis Buffalo's vice president of marketing and sales, demand for brass mill products in the US has been strong so far in 2013. The company has seen a strong pickup in demand from sectors including ammunition, electronics, heating and HVAC so far this year. The executive said that lead times at service centers were longer than eight weeks in January for flat-rolled products and that the company is considering hiring more workers at its Buffalo operation to meet the demand.

The demand for copper flat-rolled products softened coming into March after a strong start to the year, according to sources at some US service centers. Lead times for some copper products, which were quoted as long as eight weeks back in January, may have shorted to six weeks or less in March according to an American Metal Market report. A drop in demand for appliances and connectors market was noted by some sources contacted by AMM, but sales of ammunition, a key end-use of flat-rolled brass, have remained buoyant since the start of the year.

According to preliminary data from the Japan Copper and Brass Association, Japan's April shipments of rolled copper declined by 8.1% y-o-y, to 64,914t. The fall in production was attributed to poor demand from the electronics sector, despite robust consumption by the automotive industry. Nevertheless, shipments of rolled copper increased 3.2% m-o-m.

An opening ceremony was held to mark an agreement to build a new 150,000t/y copper semis facility in the Jinchao Economic and Development Zone, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. Construction is expected to commence this month, in September 2012. The operation, which is a joint venture between Hong Kong Huakun International Co. Ltd. and Zheiang Tangmen Metal Structure Co. Ltd., will be capable of producing 100,000t/y of copper flat rolled products and 50,000t/y of copper foil.

According to a survey performed by Antaike, the mining and metals information provider, average operating rates of facilities in China producing copper flat rolled products fell to 55.8%, down by 3.4% m-o-m in October. The reduction in plant utilisation has been attributed to weak end-use demand from the domestic electronics and automotive sectors since the end of H1 2011, as well as decreasing export orders. Additionally, the volatile copper price is thought to have led to production cuts at copper plate, sheet, strip and foil fabrication plants. The survey also indicated that 50% of the 22 manufacturers sampled believe that demand will continue to decline and 40% think that it will not grow in the short term. Companies cited decreased buying associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays and shrinking exports of end-use products such as electronics and home appliances due to uncertainty stemming from the European debt crisis.

Zhejiang Honglei Copper, a Shenzhen-listed Chinese copper tube and wire manufacturer, announced that its RMB163M, 150,000t/y copper-alloy rolled products project has entered a testing phase. The facility uses continuous casting and rolling process equipment from Germany.

Aurubis AG's Buffalo, N.Y. copper fabricating business unit (formerly owned by Luvata) announced an increase to the fabrication charges on its rolled product shipments, effective from 1st March. While the exact charge will vary by product, the average fabrication price will rise by 10%. The company has cited the long term rise in supply, maintenance, energy and health-care costs as reasons for the change.

A recent survey by the Shanghai Metals Market of 21 major Chinese copper plate, sheet, strip and foil producers, with a total capacity of 966,200t/y, showed that operating rates in February fell to 42%, as factories shut for the Chinese New Year holiday. Copper flat-rolled producers closed facilities as migrant workers returned to their homes and did not come back to work until after the lantern festival in late February. Survey participants were reporting better levels of demand post holiday as end-users such as the automotive industry and the lithium ion battery industry increased production. Survey participants expect utilisation to increase to around 60% in March.

Aurubis, the Germany-based copper smelter and semis producer, announced increased operating earnings before tax of €140M (US$188M) in the final quarter of 2012*, compared to €86M in the previous year (US$116M). Despite an improved group level performance, Aurubis noted weaknesses in its copper semis business, saying "sales volumes were down on the previous year due to weak markets." The company attributed the weak sales to poor demand from Southern Europe and a typical seasonal slowdown in Q4, however, the company noted a slightly better environment in North America. In their outlook for the coming year, Aurubis said they expect weak conditions to remain in Europe in the coming months, but expect stronger demand from North America and the Far East. The company said that they are experiencing slower demand for wire used in automotive harnesses but hope that wirerod will replace some of the current weakness. In other semis sectors, Aurubis expects better global demand for flat-rolled products and stronger appetite for copper shapes outside of Europe.

Aurubis AG, the Germany-headquartered refined copper cathode and copper products fabricator, reported a weak performance in sales of copper products in the first quarter of this year. In Q1, the outputs of wirerod; pre-rolled strip; continuous cast shapes; rolled products and speciality wire reached 179,000t, 41,000t, 47,000t and 60,000t, down by 17% y-o-y, down by 15% y-o-y, up by 2% y-o-y and up by 329% y-o-y, respectively. Generally, the seasonal upswing in Q2 was weaker than expected, however, there was a mixture of performances in the sectors within each market, as some wirerod market sectors ordered strongly but European semi-fabricators and customers of strip and speciality wire continued to order shrinking quantities at late notice.

Aurubis reported a growth outlook for its copper products business unit. The company said that the performance of copper wirerod depends upon the progress of power grid expansion projects in Europe. The automotive sector is expected to continue to support growing wirerod sales for the next few months, however the enamelled wire industry is expected to remain weak attributed to poor demand in southern Europe. North American demand is anticipated to support growth in shipments of copper shapes as well as the company's market for flat copper products. In this regard, the US electronics and electrical industry, engine cooling and distribution segments are expected to continue improving. Stagnant European and Asian demand for flat copper products will partially undermine growth in North America. The company added that it does not anticipate the Asian copper products market to recover until the end of Summer 2012, at which time, demand in the US is expected to be good and demand from European-based operations will be recovering.

South Africa's largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal South Africa, has announced its first price decrease for the year and will cut the price of both hot-rolled coil (HRC) and wire rod by 5% as from October. The price of HRC and wire rod, which provide the base prices for flat and long steel respectively, will decline from their record levels, with the price to be cut by about R500/t on just about about all grades, barring plate which will remain unchanged.

The Copper and Brass Fabricators Council said that US imports of brass mill products in May declined by 34.9% y-o-y to 35,348,294 lbs whilst exports plummeted by 43.9% y-o-y to 16,120,361 lbs. The leading exports destination in May was Canada and most imports came from China. Imports of flat rolled products reached 6,855,548 lbs, while exports amounted to 5,671,217 lbs. Imports of tube products were 20,966,908 lbs and exports 5,259,454 lbs. Rods, bars and sections imports were 5,810,096 lbs whilst exports 3,628,657 lbs. Finally, imported alloy wire added up to 1,715,743 lbs and exports totalled 1,561,033 lbs.

Olin Brass Corporation, the US based manufacturer of copper and copper-alloy flat rolled products and fabricated components, said that the top challenges facing brass mills are weak end-use demand, volatile copper prices and overcapacity. The company estimates that the average capacity utilisation rate is just 55-60% in the US. In addition, it expects consumption of copper strip products in the US to total 829Mlbs in 2011, down from 1600Mlbs in 2000.

Aurubis issued redundancy notices to 177 employees and began relocating rolling equipment to its facilities in Zutphen, Netherlands and Buffalo, USA. Aurubis took ownership of the facility from Luvata in September 2011 when it acquired Luvata's rolled products division. However, structural overcapacity due to longterm declining demand in the European copper strip for engine cooling segment led to the operation generating losses in the past few years. In an earlier announcement on Aurubis' website, the company said that production at Finspång would be gradually reduced from mid-2013 with the company expecting to finalise the closure in late 2013.