Monday, August 25, 2008
Cost hikes cut into iron and steel company profits
This hardly seems like much of a surprise. It's hard to consider absorbing a 70% increase in iron ore cost and not having it hurt you.
chinadaily.com.cn
Costs for China's large and medium-size iron and steel manufacturers rose by more than 250 billion yuan ($36.5 billion), or 57.57 percent, in the first half, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
The cost hike was due to the soaring prices of materials and fuel, said the CISA, noting the country's iron and steel companies were facing tremendous pressure this year.
The soaring costs resulted in profit falls, with the half-year rate of return on sales for large and medium-size iron and steel suppliers at 7.61 percent, 0.95 percentage points lower than the same period last year.
chinadaily.com.cn
Costs for China's large and medium-size iron and steel manufacturers rose by more than 250 billion yuan ($36.5 billion), or 57.57 percent, in the first half, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
The cost hike was due to the soaring prices of materials and fuel, said the CISA, noting the country's iron and steel companies were facing tremendous pressure this year.
The soaring costs resulted in profit falls, with the half-year rate of return on sales for large and medium-size iron and steel suppliers at 7.61 percent, 0.95 percentage points lower than the same period last year.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Rising Iron Ore Prices for China will effect Steel Prices
One of the issues bubbling while I wasn't blogging was the iron ore price increase that Chinese steelmakers had to accept recently. There are many articles about it, many opinions, all contradictory (of course).
Let's start here:
China’s steel mills shrug off iron ore rise. An amazing feat, if true. I don't know too many industries that can shrug off an 85% increase in a major input cost.
Big steelmakers in China on Tuesday shrugged off the impact of Monday’s record rise in iron ore prices, but the higher prices could increase cost pressures on smaller mills and hasten consolidation in the industry.
The average 85 per cent price increase agreed with Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner, was within the range of expectations, analysts said. Chinese mills had been expecting a price rise of at least 65 per cent[...]
“They [large and medium-sized steelmakers] can still maintain a long-term pricing system with the Australian miners,” and avoid higher-priced spot market purchases, Ms Wang said.
But analysts said thousands of smaller Chinese mills could be affected if the pricing agreement leads to higher spot prices, hastening consolidation in the steel industry. Smaller mills buy iron ore on the spot market and are unable to lock in prices by annual contract.
If this leads to consolidation of the chinese steel industry, this should lead to higher prices for chinese goods made of steel. The article says a 3% rise in output prices should cover it.
The consolidation effect was predicted already as far back as February, in the China Daily. Iron ore price rise could force China steel rationalization
China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world, but it has become a price-taker for this basic input for steel -- perhaps because it waited too long to negotiate with major suppliers.
I also blogged on it at the time.
At the end of June, chinastakes.com wrote Iron Ore Price Hike to Swallow Chinese Steel Producers’ Profit
Apart from the iron ore price hike, the coking coal price rise will also lift the production cost of domestic steel producers. [...] With steel companies facing increasingly high production cost, profits are expected to slide in the near future.
Apart from the iron ore price hike, the price of coal and coking coal, as well as transportation costs are also increasing. In December of 2007, the average production cost of steel and pig iron in large and medium-sized steel companies increased by 31.05% over the same period in 2006.
The production cost increase of steel companies, a large part of it a result of the rise in iron ore and coking coal prices, will have a profound influence on the shipbuilding industry, the construction machinery industry, and the household appliances industry.
None of those are directly customers for small and medium sized stamping outfits, but each of those industries utilize loads of smaller stamped metal parts. Where the major manufacturing goes, so goes the little guys.
At the end of June, Mineweb.com said that Chinese dependence on iron ore imports has been growing, and was likely to rise in future.
while China was the world's biggest producer of iron ore at 520mt in 2006, representing almost a third of global production, much of this material is very low grade.
China will become more dependent on imported iron ore in future, despite the fact that its own production of iron ore has been increasing rapidly since the start of the century. Monthly imports have been growing at a much faster pace and are now almost double its own production.
Today, several sources, including Steel on the Net announced that Sinosteel succeeded in its bid to gain control of Australian iron ore miner Midwest. Stock exchange documents show it now has a majority stake in the target company. http://en.ce.cn/Business/Enterprise/200807/12/t20080712_16135812.shtml
See also: Forbes Sinosteel buys controlling stake in Aussie miner
Let's start here:
China’s steel mills shrug off iron ore rise. An amazing feat, if true. I don't know too many industries that can shrug off an 85% increase in a major input cost.
Big steelmakers in China on Tuesday shrugged off the impact of Monday’s record rise in iron ore prices, but the higher prices could increase cost pressures on smaller mills and hasten consolidation in the industry.
The average 85 per cent price increase agreed with Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner, was within the range of expectations, analysts said. Chinese mills had been expecting a price rise of at least 65 per cent[...]
“They [large and medium-sized steelmakers] can still maintain a long-term pricing system with the Australian miners,” and avoid higher-priced spot market purchases, Ms Wang said.
But analysts said thousands of smaller Chinese mills could be affected if the pricing agreement leads to higher spot prices, hastening consolidation in the steel industry. Smaller mills buy iron ore on the spot market and are unable to lock in prices by annual contract.
If this leads to consolidation of the chinese steel industry, this should lead to higher prices for chinese goods made of steel. The article says a 3% rise in output prices should cover it.
The consolidation effect was predicted already as far back as February, in the China Daily. Iron ore price rise could force China steel rationalization
China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world, but it has become a price-taker for this basic input for steel -- perhaps because it waited too long to negotiate with major suppliers.
I also blogged on it at the time.
At the end of June, chinastakes.com wrote Iron Ore Price Hike to Swallow Chinese Steel Producers’ Profit
Apart from the iron ore price hike, the coking coal price rise will also lift the production cost of domestic steel producers. [...] With steel companies facing increasingly high production cost, profits are expected to slide in the near future.
Apart from the iron ore price hike, the price of coal and coking coal, as well as transportation costs are also increasing. In December of 2007, the average production cost of steel and pig iron in large and medium-sized steel companies increased by 31.05% over the same period in 2006.
The production cost increase of steel companies, a large part of it a result of the rise in iron ore and coking coal prices, will have a profound influence on the shipbuilding industry, the construction machinery industry, and the household appliances industry.
None of those are directly customers for small and medium sized stamping outfits, but each of those industries utilize loads of smaller stamped metal parts. Where the major manufacturing goes, so goes the little guys.
At the end of June, Mineweb.com said that Chinese dependence on iron ore imports has been growing, and was likely to rise in future.
while China was the world's biggest producer of iron ore at 520mt in 2006, representing almost a third of global production, much of this material is very low grade.
China will become more dependent on imported iron ore in future, despite the fact that its own production of iron ore has been increasing rapidly since the start of the century. Monthly imports have been growing at a much faster pace and are now almost double its own production.
Today, several sources, including Steel on the Net announced that Sinosteel succeeded in its bid to gain control of Australian iron ore miner Midwest. Stock exchange documents show it now has a majority stake in the target company. http://en.ce.cn/Business/Enterprise/200807/12/t20080712_16135812.shtml
See also: Forbes Sinosteel buys controlling stake in Aussie miner
Labels: china, iron_ore, steel
Are jobs coming back from China?
Old Jobs Not Coming Back, McCain Warns Ohio Autoworkers
McCain [...] reiterated that message on Friday, saying that the government should provide better worker retraining programs and incentives for companies like GM to create new jobs making environmentally sensitive products.
"The same old jobs aren't going to be there," he said. "The new jobs are here at Lordstown."[where GM makes the fuel efficient Chevrolet Cobalt]
General Motors has announced that it plans to sell a totally electric vehicle in 2010. McCain this week proposed a $300 million award to anyone inventing a radically better electric car battery.
An interesting (if a little irritating) youtube snippet. Like all things youtube, it's too short to garner context. Maybe he didn't mean it this way, I dunno. But it sure sounds weird.
Transcription--
JOHN MCCAIN: What we have to do is embrace this new technology, accept the fact and enjoy the fact that there's new jobs and the old jobs aren't coming back.
Also on this theme, BusinessWeek had an interesting cover story last month.
Can the U.S. Bring Jobs Back from China?
American factories and supplier networks in many industries have withered in the era of globalization, so it will take lots of time and capital before the U.S. can become a big player again. In electronics, for instance, there has been a mass migration of component makers to China in the past decade. Ditto for suppliers to Midwest heavy-equipment makers and North Carolina's furniture industry.
[...]
The global industrial landscape certainly appears to be in the early stages of a realignment. The euro's breathtaking rise against the dollar has spurred European makers of cars, steel, aircraft, and more to shift production to the U.S. Now the soaring cost of fuel is making it pricier to send goods across the Pacific.
According to ABC news, at least some jobs are coming back.
As the cost of shipping continues to soar along with fuel prices, homegrown manufacturing jobs are making a comeback after decades of decline.
Furniture designer Carol Gregg used to have her signature Chinese chests assembled in China, but such a luxury no longer seems viable, considering that some of her pieces now cost five times more to ship.
So now Gregg is having the chests made in North Carolina, simply because its cheaper.
"It's not just about labor costs anymore," says Rubin. "Distance costs money, and when you have to shift iron ore from Brazil to China and then ship it back to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is looking pretty good at 40 bucks an hour."
McCain [...] reiterated that message on Friday, saying that the government should provide better worker retraining programs and incentives for companies like GM to create new jobs making environmentally sensitive products.
"The same old jobs aren't going to be there," he said. "The new jobs are here at Lordstown."[where GM makes the fuel efficient Chevrolet Cobalt]
General Motors has announced that it plans to sell a totally electric vehicle in 2010. McCain this week proposed a $300 million award to anyone inventing a radically better electric car battery.
An interesting (if a little irritating) youtube snippet. Like all things youtube, it's too short to garner context. Maybe he didn't mean it this way, I dunno. But it sure sounds weird.
Transcription--
JOHN MCCAIN: What we have to do is embrace this new technology, accept the fact and enjoy the fact that there's new jobs and the old jobs aren't coming back.
Also on this theme, BusinessWeek had an interesting cover story last month.
Can the U.S. Bring Jobs Back from China?
American factories and supplier networks in many industries have withered in the era of globalization, so it will take lots of time and capital before the U.S. can become a big player again. In electronics, for instance, there has been a mass migration of component makers to China in the past decade. Ditto for suppliers to Midwest heavy-equipment makers and North Carolina's furniture industry.
[...]
The global industrial landscape certainly appears to be in the early stages of a realignment. The euro's breathtaking rise against the dollar has spurred European makers of cars, steel, aircraft, and more to shift production to the U.S. Now the soaring cost of fuel is making it pricier to send goods across the Pacific.
According to ABC news, at least some jobs are coming back.
As the cost of shipping continues to soar along with fuel prices, homegrown manufacturing jobs are making a comeback after decades of decline.
Furniture designer Carol Gregg used to have her signature Chinese chests assembled in China, but such a luxury no longer seems viable, considering that some of her pieces now cost five times more to ship.
So now Gregg is having the chests made in North Carolina, simply because its cheaper.
"It's not just about labor costs anymore," says Rubin. "Distance costs money, and when you have to shift iron ore from Brazil to China and then ship it back to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is looking pretty good at 40 bucks an hour."
Labels: china, jobs, manufacturing
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Oil's cargo cushion
reportonbusiness.com
The soaring cost of fuel is whittling away at the cheap-labour advantage enjoyed by Asian exporters, giving Canadian firms a welcome edge in their fight to win back business from Asian competitors.
Two bank economists argue in a report released Tuesday that because of higher fuel costs, shipping a standard 40-foot container from Shanghai to the east coast of North America now costs $8,000 (U.S.), up from $3,000 in 2000 when oil was just $20 a barrel.
That higher cost is passed on to North American consumers, making goods from China and other Asian places more costly compared to the offerings of domestic North American producers.
Some Canadian manufacturers are already noticing the effect.
[...]
Jeffrey Rubin and Benjamin Tal of CIBC World Markets Inc. say higher oil prices are reversing the world-is-flat effect, in which lower trade barriers and new technologies like the Internet made it cheaper to move goods and services from developing Asia to the markets of the rich world.
“In a world of triple-digit oil prices, distance costs money,” they write. “And while trade liberalization and technology may have flattened the world, rising transport prices will once again make it rounder.”
Mr. Rubin and Mr. Tal say the steel sector is a prime example of the world-is-round effect.
Chinese steel exports to the United States are falling by more than 20 per cent year over year. China's costs have risen because Chinese producers have to bring in their iron ore from faraway places such as Australia and Brazil, then ship the finished steel to the United States. As a result, U.S. steel producers actually have an advantage over Chinese rivals.
[...]
“This is an environment in which shipping from the Pacific Rim may not make sense any more,” Mr. Tal said in an interview.
“If you're thinking, ‘maybe we should bring in a container from China,' you should think again.”
The soaring cost of fuel is whittling away at the cheap-labour advantage enjoyed by Asian exporters, giving Canadian firms a welcome edge in their fight to win back business from Asian competitors.
Two bank economists argue in a report released Tuesday that because of higher fuel costs, shipping a standard 40-foot container from Shanghai to the east coast of North America now costs $8,000 (U.S.), up from $3,000 in 2000 when oil was just $20 a barrel.
That higher cost is passed on to North American consumers, making goods from China and other Asian places more costly compared to the offerings of domestic North American producers.
Some Canadian manufacturers are already noticing the effect.
[...]
Jeffrey Rubin and Benjamin Tal of CIBC World Markets Inc. say higher oil prices are reversing the world-is-flat effect, in which lower trade barriers and new technologies like the Internet made it cheaper to move goods and services from developing Asia to the markets of the rich world.
“In a world of triple-digit oil prices, distance costs money,” they write. “And while trade liberalization and technology may have flattened the world, rising transport prices will once again make it rounder.”
Mr. Rubin and Mr. Tal say the steel sector is a prime example of the world-is-round effect.
Chinese steel exports to the United States are falling by more than 20 per cent year over year. China's costs have risen because Chinese producers have to bring in their iron ore from faraway places such as Australia and Brazil, then ship the finished steel to the United States. As a result, U.S. steel producers actually have an advantage over Chinese rivals.
[...]
“This is an environment in which shipping from the Pacific Rim may not make sense any more,” Mr. Tal said in an interview.
“If you're thinking, ‘maybe we should bring in a container from China,' you should think again.”
Labels: china, manufacturing, steel
Saturday, May 17, 2008
China quake seen cutting metals output, lifting zinc prices
Now here's an aspect of the China quake scenario I'll bet you hadn't considered ...
Heightened concerns that China's devastating earthquake will curtail the country's massive metals output helped aluminum, zinc and other base metals extend a two-day rally Friday.
[...]
China is the world's largest producer of zinc, aluminum and lead.
Only a sliver of the country's base metals mining and production takes place in Sichuan province, the epicenter of Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, which Chinese authorities now estimate has claimed more than 21,500 lives. But the two nearby provinces also jolted by the quake -- Shaanxi and Gansu -- have mines and smelters as well.
Bloomberg wrote:
Zinc rose in London, heading for the biggest weekly gain since February, as the biggest earthquake in nearly six decades in China hit output in the world's biggest producer. Aluminum also climbed.
China's 7.9-magnitude earthquake is affecting as much as 350,000 tons of zinc smelting capacity in Sichuan and neighboring provinces, according to Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. The tremor that took place May 12 also affected transportation and power supplies.
At the same time, other analysts are saying that China will temporarily stop buying some metals, because they are distracted by bigger domestic issues at the moment.
However, logic would indicate that, if there is rebuilding to be done afterwards, they will need more, not fewer, resources.
Heightened concerns that China's devastating earthquake will curtail the country's massive metals output helped aluminum, zinc and other base metals extend a two-day rally Friday.
[...]
China is the world's largest producer of zinc, aluminum and lead.
Only a sliver of the country's base metals mining and production takes place in Sichuan province, the epicenter of Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, which Chinese authorities now estimate has claimed more than 21,500 lives. But the two nearby provinces also jolted by the quake -- Shaanxi and Gansu -- have mines and smelters as well.
Bloomberg wrote:
Zinc rose in London, heading for the biggest weekly gain since February, as the biggest earthquake in nearly six decades in China hit output in the world's biggest producer. Aluminum also climbed.
China's 7.9-magnitude earthquake is affecting as much as 350,000 tons of zinc smelting capacity in Sichuan and neighboring provinces, according to Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. The tremor that took place May 12 also affected transportation and power supplies.
At the same time, other analysts are saying that China will temporarily stop buying some metals, because they are distracted by bigger domestic issues at the moment.
However, logic would indicate that, if there is rebuilding to be done afterwards, they will need more, not fewer, resources.
Labels: aluminum, china, lead, zinc
Thursday, March 27, 2008
STEEL PRICES DRIVEN UP BY RISING INPUT COSTS AND LIMITED SUPPLY
MEPS INTERNATIONAL
Since it was announced that iron ore prices would rise by 65 percent, Chinese mills have sought to lift steel values quite substantially. Japanese producers have tabled advances of ¥20,000 per tonne for April deliveries and may even adjust prices further in the third trimester. Market values have already strengthened considerably in the wake of the announcements, amidst tight supply caused in part by buoyant demand from the auto makers.
Since it was announced that iron ore prices would rise by 65 percent, Chinese mills have sought to lift steel values quite substantially. Japanese producers have tabled advances of ¥20,000 per tonne for April deliveries and may even adjust prices further in the third trimester. Market values have already strengthened considerably in the wake of the announcements, amidst tight supply caused in part by buoyant demand from the auto makers.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Italians seize 30 tons of radioactive steel
This usage of the word "accident" raises more questions than it answers. How do you accidentally mix steel with cobalt-60?
USATODAY.com
Italian police said Monday they have seized 30 tons of Chinese-made steel that had been contaminated by a radioactive substance.
[...]
The steel had been accidentally mixed during production with cobalt-60
USATODAY.com
Italian police said Monday they have seized 30 tons of Chinese-made steel that had been contaminated by a radioactive substance.
[...]
The steel had been accidentally mixed during production with cobalt-60
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Iron ore price rise could force China steel rationalization
China Daily
[...]higher costs might actually help rationalize the Chinese steel industry by pricing some smaller firms with obsolete technology out of business.
After Brazilian mining conglomerate Vale hammered out 2008 benchmark prices for iron ore fines with Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) steel makers last week, Baosteel Group, China's largest steel maker, agreed on the price for fiscal 2008, accepting the Brazilian miner's price hikes that ranged from 65 percent to 71 percent compared with 2007.
[...]
China's steel needs have soared, driven by rapid urbanization and many large infrastructure projects. China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world.
[...]higher costs might actually help rationalize the Chinese steel industry by pricing some smaller firms with obsolete technology out of business.
After Brazilian mining conglomerate Vale hammered out 2008 benchmark prices for iron ore fines with Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) steel makers last week, Baosteel Group, China's largest steel maker, agreed on the price for fiscal 2008, accepting the Brazilian miner's price hikes that ranged from 65 percent to 71 percent compared with 2007.
[...]
China's steel needs have soared, driven by rapid urbanization and many large infrastructure projects. China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
China's Pain is Century Aluminum's Gain
The main part of the article is about aluminum, how a major aluminum smelter in China had to shut down, and what that's going to do to the aluminum market.
But the larger issue, for most stampers, is in this section. Power problems and unreliability in China are going to increase
Arif said that while the outages at Chalco’s plants are only temporary, there will start to be more power issues in China going forward. China has been subsidizing power for its users so demand for power has grown unabated, Arif said. As the costs to produce power, whether coal or other fuel, has increased, the Chinese government has spoken about increasing the power costs for institutional consumers like aluminum consumers. “That’s why you’ll start seeing a lot more of these types of power issues develop,” he said.
But the larger issue, for most stampers, is in this section. Power problems and unreliability in China are going to increase
Arif said that while the outages at Chalco’s plants are only temporary, there will start to be more power issues in China going forward. China has been subsidizing power for its users so demand for power has grown unabated, Arif said. As the costs to produce power, whether coal or other fuel, has increased, the Chinese government has spoken about increasing the power costs for institutional consumers like aluminum consumers. “That’s why you’ll start seeing a lot more of these types of power issues develop,” he said.
Friday, December 28, 2007
North American Breaker Co. Recalls Counterfeit Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard
This isn't a stamping story exactly, but many stamped products are also counterfeited in China, so it seems related to me.
The notice comes from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.
Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Counterfeit Circuit Breakers labeled as “Square D”
Units: About 50,000
Distributor/Retailer: North American Breaker Co. Inc. (NABCO), of Burbank, Calif.
Hazard: The recalled circuit breakers labeled “Square D” have been determined by Square D to be counterfeit and can fail to trip when they are overloaded, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
The notice comes from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.
Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Counterfeit Circuit Breakers labeled as “Square D”
Units: About 50,000
Distributor/Retailer: North American Breaker Co. Inc. (NABCO), of Burbank, Calif.
Hazard: The recalled circuit breakers labeled “Square D” have been determined by Square D to be counterfeit and can fail to trip when they are overloaded, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
Labels: china, counterfeit
Saturday, December 22, 2007
China to impose or raise export tariffs on coal, steel products next year
People's Daily Online
China will impose or raise export duties on products including wood pulp, coke, alloy steel, steel billets, and some finished steel products in 2008, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Friday.
The nation will also impose temporary export tariffs on coal, crude oil, and metal ores next year, the MOF stated, without providing further details.
China will impose or raise export duties on products including wood pulp, coke, alloy steel, steel billets, and some finished steel products in 2008, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Friday.
The nation will also impose temporary export tariffs on coal, crude oil, and metal ores next year, the MOF stated, without providing further details.
China to Raise Tariffs on Steel, Coal Exports in January
Bloomberg.com: Asia
China, which produces a third of the world's steel, will raise export tariffs on some steel products from Jan. 1 to help rein in a record trade surplus and reduce energy consumption and pollution.
It didn't give details on new tax rates. The country will also impose export tariffs on coal, crude oil and metal ores next year, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday.
China, seeking to curb a record trade surplus, cut tax rebates and raised duties on steel shipments this year. The Asian nation's exports have pressured rivals, leading the European Union last month to threaten tariffs to shield its producers, including ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker.
China, which produces a third of the world's steel, will raise export tariffs on some steel products from Jan. 1 to help rein in a record trade surplus and reduce energy consumption and pollution.
It didn't give details on new tax rates. The country will also impose export tariffs on coal, crude oil and metal ores next year, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday.
China, seeking to curb a record trade surplus, cut tax rebates and raised duties on steel shipments this year. The Asian nation's exports have pressured rivals, leading the European Union last month to threaten tariffs to shield its producers, including ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Copper prices fall, global stockpiles increase
Bloomberg.com
Copper prices fell in Shanghai as global stockpiles kept rising, renewing concern that demand is slowing for the metal used in wires and pipes.
Copper prices fell in Shanghai as global stockpiles kept rising, renewing concern that demand is slowing for the metal used in wires and pipes.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
U.S. Border Fence Made with Imported Steel
This is more symbolic in some ways than substantive, but not entirely. I know someone who knows someone, etc, who is a fencemaker. He bought fence from China (you buy it in rolls, like fabric) twice, and both times, the quality was poor and he had to replace it after installation. So he won't buy there again. I don't know what the quality issues were, but if it makes a lousy fence, even if it's a good price, what's the point?
NPR
The comedian Carlos Mencia jokes about that giant fence to keep out immigrants. He says we might need immigrant labor to build it. Now lawmakers are upset that the fence includes immigrant steel. Some of the fence on the Mexican border is being built with steel from China.
NPR
The comedian Carlos Mencia jokes about that giant fence to keep out immigrants. He says we might need immigrant labor to build it. Now lawmakers are upset that the fence includes immigrant steel. Some of the fence on the Mexican border is being built with steel from China.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Flooding In China Leaves 181 Miners Trapped
From time to time I comment on the high human cost of Chinese steel. Here we have it again. Chinese mines have the worst safety record in the world.
CityNews
Heavy flooding poured into two coal mines in eastern China on Friday, leaving 181 miners trapped and feared dead. Two high-speed pumps were being rushed in to drain the flooded shafts, but officials say there's no word on when rescuers might enter the mines.
China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with thousands of fatalities a year.
CityNews
Heavy flooding poured into two coal mines in eastern China on Friday, leaving 181 miners trapped and feared dead. Two high-speed pumps were being rushed in to drain the flooded shafts, but officials say there's no word on when rescuers might enter the mines.
China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with thousands of fatalities a year.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Area lawmakers testify to keep tariffs on Chinese steel; Nucor called a victim
I don't understand why anyone thinks it makes sense to impose tarifs on the raw materials coming from China and not the finished goods made from the same raw materials coming from China. All this does is cut the entire food chain out of North America and shift it all to China. Why don't the steelmakers see it as shortsighted to cut off the legs of their customers? Why don't the lawmakers see it either?
Nucor Corp. and other U.S. steelmakers are the victims of China's illegal subsidization of exported steel, lawmakers testified Tuesday.
In the first day of a two-day hearing, dozens of lawmakers argued that the U.S. International Trade Commission should renew five-year punitive tariffs on hot-rolled flat carbon steel imported from China and 10 other countries. China was the main target.
Nucor Corp. and other U.S. steelmakers are the victims of China's illegal subsidization of exported steel, lawmakers testified Tuesday.
In the first day of a two-day hearing, dozens of lawmakers argued that the U.S. International Trade Commission should renew five-year punitive tariffs on hot-rolled flat carbon steel imported from China and 10 other countries. China was the main target.
Labels: china, currency, manipulation, manufacturing, steel
Thursday, June 28, 2007
CHINESE TAX LEVY FAILS TO LIFT GLOBAL STEEL PRICES FOR STRIP MILL PRODUCTS
MEPS
US strip mill transaction prices softened further over the last month as scrap costs continued to slide. The downturn is most apparent in the hot rolled category. Real consumption has remained lacklustre, causing service centre inventory depletion to take much longer to complete than was initially envisaged. Delivery lead times quoted by domestic mills have reduced to four weeks or less in some instances.
US strip mill transaction prices softened further over the last month as scrap costs continued to slide. The downturn is most apparent in the hot rolled category. Real consumption has remained lacklustre, causing service centre inventory depletion to take much longer to complete than was initially envisaged. Delivery lead times quoted by domestic mills have reduced to four weeks or less in some instances.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Copper May Fall Next Week on Speculation China Demand Will Slow
bloomberg.com
Copper may fall next week on speculation that demand will slow in China, the largest buyer of the metal, following a surge in imports in the first quarter.
Yahoo Asia:
copper rebounded on Friday, but analysts think the overall trend of rising copper stocks and lower demand over coming months could pressure prices down further.
Copper futures shed 2.3%
China Daily
Copper futures in Shanghai fell by [...] nearly 4 percent, by midday on Friday before closing [...] down 2.3 percent from the previous close, because of growing investors' concern about rising stocks of the industrial metal in China.
Copper may fall next week on speculation that demand will slow in China, the largest buyer of the metal, following a surge in imports in the first quarter.
Yahoo Asia:
copper rebounded on Friday, but analysts think the overall trend of rising copper stocks and lower demand over coming months could pressure prices down further.
Copper futures shed 2.3%
China Daily
Copper futures in Shanghai fell by [...] nearly 4 percent, by midday on Friday before closing [...] down 2.3 percent from the previous close, because of growing investors' concern about rising stocks of the industrial metal in China.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Copper Heads for Largest Weekly Drop in 3 Months
Bloomberg.com
Copper headed for its largest weekly decline in three months in London on speculation that demand growth will slow in China, the world's biggest user. Nickel and zinc rose.
China's copper imports probably slowed in April, said analysts including Kevin Norrish at Barclays Capital.
``The Chinese market is suffering temporary indigestion after the amount of material delivered into Shanghai in the first quarter,'' Norrish said today by phone from London. ``Some people expected them to buy this week when they returned to the market after the holiday, but that hasn't happened.''
Copper headed for its largest weekly decline in three months in London on speculation that demand growth will slow in China, the world's biggest user. Nickel and zinc rose.
China's copper imports probably slowed in April, said analysts including Kevin Norrish at Barclays Capital.
``The Chinese market is suffering temporary indigestion after the amount of material delivered into Shanghai in the first quarter,'' Norrish said today by phone from London. ``Some people expected them to buy this week when they returned to the market after the holiday, but that hasn't happened.''
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Gas leak kills four at China steel plant
Once again, chinese steel workers pay a heavy price.
China Economic Net (ce.cn)
The accident occurred at around 0:00 a.m. at Haicheng Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., a private company that produces 500,000 tons of raw iron a year, said an official with the safety inspection bureau in Anshan.
Five workers were on duty and were taking a nap in their office. "Four of them had died when rescuers arrived," he said on condition of anonymity. "The fifth one was out of danger after timely treatment."
The leak occurred on a gas pipe connected to the company's primary blast furnace
China Economic Net (ce.cn)
The accident occurred at around 0:00 a.m. at Haicheng Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., a private company that produces 500,000 tons of raw iron a year, said an official with the safety inspection bureau in Anshan.
Five workers were on duty and were taking a nap in their office. "Four of them had died when rescuers arrived," he said on condition of anonymity. "The fifth one was out of danger after timely treatment."
The leak occurred on a gas pipe connected to the company's primary blast furnace
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Look Who's Talking: Dan Cunningham - It's time to embrace the potential in China
From the "if you can't beat'em, join'em department" ...
It's time to embrace the potential in China
Cincinnati Enquirer
Dan Cunningham, president and chief executive of Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co. in West Chester Township, knows that China is a threat and an opportunity for his 144-year-old metal-stamping company.
But rather than run from what he calls the China 'tsunami,' Cunningham has embraced it.
Over the past five years, he has made nearly two dozen trips to China, established a couple of joint ventures there and started a small metal-stamping operation in Changzhou province run by his son, Marvin. The effort has paid off, more than doubling Long-Stanton's business and increasing employment at the West Chester plant to 75 from around 60.
It's time to embrace the potential in China
Cincinnati Enquirer
Dan Cunningham, president and chief executive of Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co. in West Chester Township, knows that China is a threat and an opportunity for his 144-year-old metal-stamping company.
But rather than run from what he calls the China 'tsunami,' Cunningham has embraced it.
Over the past five years, he has made nearly two dozen trips to China, established a couple of joint ventures there and started a small metal-stamping operation in Changzhou province run by his son, Marvin. The effort has paid off, more than doubling Long-Stanton's business and increasing employment at the West Chester plant to 75 from around 60.
Labels: china, manufacturing
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Workers recount tragedy at China steel factory
I've commented more than once on China's workplace safety record, especially in the steel and coal industries, because they relate most specifically to metal stamping.
In this accident, a crane failure occurred while the laddle was full of molten steel.
In an irony I'm sure no one appreciates, they were having a safety meeting in that meeting room.
Yahoo! News
Survivors of a horrific industrial accident in northeast China Thursday recounted the gruesome scene at their factory when 26 tonnes of molten steel poured into a meeting room, killing 32 workers.
[...]
The accident happened at Qinghe Special Steel Corp, a relatively modern facility in China's former industrial heartland in Liaoning province.
In this accident, a crane failure occurred while the laddle was full of molten steel.
In an irony I'm sure no one appreciates, they were having a safety meeting in that meeting room.
Yahoo! News
Survivors of a horrific industrial accident in northeast China Thursday recounted the gruesome scene at their factory when 26 tonnes of molten steel poured into a meeting room, killing 32 workers.
[...]
The accident happened at Qinghe Special Steel Corp, a relatively modern facility in China's former industrial heartland in Liaoning province.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Manufacturing's Race for the Bottom
Today I got more semi-confirmations from others in the slide forming business that US Baird is likely gone. At least, everyone has heard the same rumour, but no one (so far) heard it directly from the horses mouth.
But I thought I'd dwell on this for a bit. What an odd bit of timing. US Baird, an innovative company with a 150 year history, goes out of business. George writes his article on how North America has lost it's manufacturing tradition. And Menu Foods poisons many hundreds, perhaps thousands of pets, by importing contaminated wheat gluten from China.
What is going on here? Why is manufacturing engaged in a giant race for the bottom?
To some extent, responding to the pressure to reduce cost is good. When you can make an equivalent product, that means, as good or better, by a simpler process, you are reducing cost in a good way. That is, you are reducing the total cost of the product.
For instance, if you find out that 5 microinches of plating is enough for the application, and you cut it down from 10, you reduce the cost. If you find a way to run the machine faster, so it produces more parts per unit time, you are reducing the cost. If you find a smarter method of assembly, so that fewer man hours are needed, you are reducing the cost. If you find a process that is less environmentally harmful, and therefore there is less environmental cleanup involved, you are reducing the cost.
But we've stopped doing that. Instead, we're merely shifting cost into someone else's back yard, into someone else's economy. Often, we are increasing the real cost of the item, measured in hours or lives or environmental damage.
Look, for instance, at chinese steel. Chinese steel costs less. There are many reasons, but most of the media attention has been focused on low wages. Low wages are a part of it, but macro economics says that, over time, that will even out. The workers will demand, and eventually get, better wages.
Large parts also have to do with unsafe working conditions, with extremely low cost-of-safety government regulations, inadequate or non-existant enforcement, inadequate compensation for maimed or dead workers, not just in the steel industry but in the other industries behind it, like coal mining.
Those factors won't ever even out. Those workers will still be dead, and their families will miss them for the rest of their natural lives.
So when the CEO of a company buys products from China, they transfer those costs, insurance, compensation for work accidents, etc, to places which attach little or not currency to those items. It's not like the number of workplace accidents go down, in fact, they generally go up. And the real human costs, measured by every moral measure, go up. Thousands of chinese mine workers die every year. China has the worst mining safety record in the world. In the world! So in fact, outsourcing to China increases the cost by every moral measure. But it decreases the dollar cost, because the chinese pay so little for a life.
The same arguments can be made for the environment. We shift environmentally substandard processes to other, under developed countries, where the dollar cost of transgression is low, even though the environmental processes are, at best, no different, and in many cases much worse. So it's not like we're harming the planet any less, it's just that we're doing it in an underdeveloped country where the cost of transgressing hasn't caught up with the first world.
In other words, we're creating human misery, suffering and environmental damage, but being asked to pay less for it, because it's happening somewhere else. Oh, and then there's the environmental damage of transporting all those products half way around the world.
In what conceivable scenario does this make sense?
Menu Foods is in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. Canada is a net exporter of wheat. Why is Menu Foods buying wheat gluten from China, paying shipping charges?
And now they will be paying for a class action lawsuit, for all the dead pets.
It's easy to blame Menu Foods. They bought an inferior product from far away, a place where, it seems, contaminating pet food isn't important because, I guess, pets aren't important. I've seen several reports. The gluten was contaminated with rat poison, in one report, with Melamine in another report. In any case, it's clear that someone didn't much care about this product.
But whatever happened to quality? Especially in a food. Whatever happened to being willing to pay for good ingredients, properly prepared? For your pets, or your children. Why are we buying inferior products? Why are the WalMarts of the world stocking inferior products? Why are they forcing suppliers to skimp and save and cheapen their products? Why do we as consumers buy from such stores?
Only when you find an answer to why we, as consumers, have pushed for the lowest quality product at the lowest price, will you understand why North American manufacturing is languishing and dying. The race for the bottom starts with us.
But I thought I'd dwell on this for a bit. What an odd bit of timing. US Baird, an innovative company with a 150 year history, goes out of business. George writes his article on how North America has lost it's manufacturing tradition. And Menu Foods poisons many hundreds, perhaps thousands of pets, by importing contaminated wheat gluten from China.
What is going on here? Why is manufacturing engaged in a giant race for the bottom?
To some extent, responding to the pressure to reduce cost is good. When you can make an equivalent product, that means, as good or better, by a simpler process, you are reducing cost in a good way. That is, you are reducing the total cost of the product.
For instance, if you find out that 5 microinches of plating is enough for the application, and you cut it down from 10, you reduce the cost. If you find a way to run the machine faster, so it produces more parts per unit time, you are reducing the cost. If you find a smarter method of assembly, so that fewer man hours are needed, you are reducing the cost. If you find a process that is less environmentally harmful, and therefore there is less environmental cleanup involved, you are reducing the cost.
But we've stopped doing that. Instead, we're merely shifting cost into someone else's back yard, into someone else's economy. Often, we are increasing the real cost of the item, measured in hours or lives or environmental damage.
Look, for instance, at chinese steel. Chinese steel costs less. There are many reasons, but most of the media attention has been focused on low wages. Low wages are a part of it, but macro economics says that, over time, that will even out. The workers will demand, and eventually get, better wages.
Large parts also have to do with unsafe working conditions, with extremely low cost-of-safety government regulations, inadequate or non-existant enforcement, inadequate compensation for maimed or dead workers, not just in the steel industry but in the other industries behind it, like coal mining.
Those factors won't ever even out. Those workers will still be dead, and their families will miss them for the rest of their natural lives.
So when the CEO of a company buys products from China, they transfer those costs, insurance, compensation for work accidents, etc, to places which attach little or not currency to those items. It's not like the number of workplace accidents go down, in fact, they generally go up. And the real human costs, measured by every moral measure, go up. Thousands of chinese mine workers die every year. China has the worst mining safety record in the world. In the world! So in fact, outsourcing to China increases the cost by every moral measure. But it decreases the dollar cost, because the chinese pay so little for a life.
The same arguments can be made for the environment. We shift environmentally substandard processes to other, under developed countries, where the dollar cost of transgression is low, even though the environmental processes are, at best, no different, and in many cases much worse. So it's not like we're harming the planet any less, it's just that we're doing it in an underdeveloped country where the cost of transgressing hasn't caught up with the first world.
In other words, we're creating human misery, suffering and environmental damage, but being asked to pay less for it, because it's happening somewhere else. Oh, and then there's the environmental damage of transporting all those products half way around the world.
In what conceivable scenario does this make sense?
Menu Foods is in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. Canada is a net exporter of wheat. Why is Menu Foods buying wheat gluten from China, paying shipping charges?
And now they will be paying for a class action lawsuit, for all the dead pets.
It's easy to blame Menu Foods. They bought an inferior product from far away, a place where, it seems, contaminating pet food isn't important because, I guess, pets aren't important. I've seen several reports. The gluten was contaminated with rat poison, in one report, with Melamine in another report. In any case, it's clear that someone didn't much care about this product.
But whatever happened to quality? Especially in a food. Whatever happened to being willing to pay for good ingredients, properly prepared? For your pets, or your children. Why are we buying inferior products? Why are the WalMarts of the world stocking inferior products? Why are they forcing suppliers to skimp and save and cheapen their products? Why do we as consumers buy from such stores?
Only when you find an answer to why we, as consumers, have pushed for the lowest quality product at the lowest price, will you understand why North American manufacturing is languishing and dying. The race for the bottom starts with us.
Labels: china, manufacturing, safety
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
China Currency Coalition
Every once in a while, I like to give a plug to the China Currency Coalition. They sure seem to be fighting an uphill battle (although I'm baffled as to why their point of view isn't making itself in the eyes of the public and legislators).
Their basic premise is that Chinese currency manipulation is unfair. Well, of course it is. It's also illegal under various statutes and international obligations. I'm no lawyer, so I'll leave that one to the lawyers.
I can tell you this. Currency manipulation was rampant during the second world war war, and it was used as a weapon of war. That's pretty serious. So why don't we take these things seriously now?
Their basic premise is that Chinese currency manipulation is unfair. Well, of course it is. It's also illegal under various statutes and international obligations. I'm no lawyer, so I'll leave that one to the lawyers.
I can tell you this. Currency manipulation was rampant during the second world war war, and it was used as a weapon of war. That's pretty serious. So why don't we take these things seriously now?
Labels: china, currency, manipulation
Sunday, March 11, 2007
'Low-Cost' Economies Not So Cheap
I just found this interesting article this week, although it's almost 6 months old. I found it on another bloggers web site, which just shows, I suppose, that I should browse the other blogs more.
The low-cost allure of emerging economies such China, India and eastern Europe for Western companies is overdone once the meager productivity of their workers is factored in, the Conference Board said Oct. 3. Bart van Ark, director of the Conference Board's international economic research program, said the report was a 'critical lesson' to Western companies seeking to take advantage of lower costs in emerging economies.
Add to that the fact that certain materials, like spring steel and stainless steel, aren't available in sufficient quantity and quality, and it's unclear why people think offshoring is a good idea.
The low-cost allure of emerging economies such China, India and eastern Europe for Western companies is overdone once the meager productivity of their workers is factored in, the Conference Board said Oct. 3. Bart van Ark, director of the Conference Board's international economic research program, said the report was a 'critical lesson' to Western companies seeking to take advantage of lower costs in emerging economies.
Add to that the fact that certain materials, like spring steel and stainless steel, aren't available in sufficient quantity and quality, and it's unclear why people think offshoring is a good idea.
Labels: china
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
China to Close Dirty Steel Mills
I've commented, from time to time, about the environmental and workplace safety issues in the Chinese steel industry (and the coal mining industry that produces coking coal for steel).
It seems like someone may be doing something about it.
Yahoo! Finance
China will close its dirtiest steel mills as it steps up efforts to rein in surging energy use and clean up environmental damage caused by its economic boom, Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday.
However, the word and the deed are sometimes separated.
Wen acknowledged Sunday that China failed to meet its conservation targets last year.
On Monday, he promised to "resolutely close down" its oldest, dirtiest steel mills, power plants and facilities in the cement, aluminum and coke industries.
It seems like someone may be doing something about it.
Yahoo! Finance
China will close its dirtiest steel mills as it steps up efforts to rein in surging energy use and clean up environmental damage caused by its economic boom, Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday.
However, the word and the deed are sometimes separated.
Wen acknowledged Sunday that China failed to meet its conservation targets last year.
On Monday, he promised to "resolutely close down" its oldest, dirtiest steel mills, power plants and facilities in the cement, aluminum and coke industries.
Monday, November 28, 2005
China coal mine blast kills 68
From time to time we comment on Chinese workplace safety issues. Here's another case ...
Reuters
An explosion ripped through a state-owned colliery in northeast China, killing 68 miners and trapping 79 underground, just days after Chinese leaders called for vigilance to prevent major accidents.
The blast late on Sunday was the latest disaster to strike Heilongjiang, whose capital city, Harbin, was held hostage for five days by a toxic spill coursing through the Songhua river that provides its water supply, forcing a shut-down of tap water.
Later, Reuters reported 36 still trapped.
A few minutes ago, a report from a Turkish source implied the trapped 34 were lost:
Mine Accident Death Toll Rises in China to 134 from Zaman.com in Turkey
According to the official Chinese news agency, Shinhua, there are still 15 mine workers missing.
Some background: China's Deadliest Mining Disasters
And this, of course, is part of the problem:
Families compensated for lives lost in north China mine mishap
Families of the 33 miners killed in the plaster mine cave-in in north China's Hebei Province on Nov. 6 have been compensated 170,000 yuan (US$21,400) for each victim, the local source said.
Reuters
An explosion ripped through a state-owned colliery in northeast China, killing 68 miners and trapping 79 underground, just days after Chinese leaders called for vigilance to prevent major accidents.
The blast late on Sunday was the latest disaster to strike Heilongjiang, whose capital city, Harbin, was held hostage for five days by a toxic spill coursing through the Songhua river that provides its water supply, forcing a shut-down of tap water.
Later, Reuters reported 36 still trapped.
A few minutes ago, a report from a Turkish source implied the trapped 34 were lost:
Mine Accident Death Toll Rises in China to 134 from Zaman.com in Turkey
According to the official Chinese news agency, Shinhua, there are still 15 mine workers missing.
Some background: China's Deadliest Mining Disasters
And this, of course, is part of the problem:
Families compensated for lives lost in north China mine mishap
Families of the 33 miners killed in the plaster mine cave-in in north China's Hebei Province on Nov. 6 have been compensated 170,000 yuan (US$21,400) for each victim, the local source said.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Gas Explosion at illegal Chinese coal mine kills 19 workers
I've commented before on the worker safety conditions (or lack thereof) in China. So this relayed without further comment. The articles so far don't say whether this is metalurgical (coaking) coal or some other type.
Yahoo Asia
Thirty-four miners were underground when the accident occurred at the Jiajiapu Coal Mine in Shanxi province Saturday, the report said. Fifteen workers escaped unharmed.
The mine was operating without official permits, it said.
China's mines are the world's most dangerous with fires, floods and other mishaps killing workers almost every day. Lax safety rules and a lack of proper safety equipment are often to blame.
Yahoo Asia
Thirty-four miners were underground when the accident occurred at the Jiajiapu Coal Mine in Shanxi province Saturday, the report said. Fifteen workers escaped unharmed.
The mine was operating without official permits, it said.
China's mines are the world's most dangerous with fires, floods and other mishaps killing workers almost every day. Lax safety rules and a lack of proper safety equipment are often to blame.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Coal mine owners have been ordered to use some of their profits to urgently improve safety conditions. The demand issued yesterday by a senior State Council official comes after China's appalling work safety record in mines plunged new depths.
The article goes on to say that this will raise coal prices, and that's not a bad thing, because so much is wasted because it's so cheap, it's also an ecological problem.
Another article in Newsday puts this into context:
China's Legislature Gears Up for Session
The annual meeting of China's legislature may be little more than tightly scripted political theater, but in a country where all decisions are made in secret, it offers a rare peek behind the curtain.
Later, the author writes:
So much else in China is changing day by day -- from business to technology and even village governance -- but the National People's Congress remains a relic of years gone by. Still, the annual spectacle offers a glimpse into the intentions of a government increasingly sure of China's rising global status and able to swiftly crack down on any opposition to one-party rule.
Topping this year's agenda is an anti-secession law aimed at curbing pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan[... .]
In closed-door sessions, delegates will discuss eliminating graft, improving workplace safety, lifting rural incomes and protecting China's ravaged environment, while avoiding any challenges to current policy or leaders.
They also plan to debate how to discourage the abortion of female fetuses in a country where 117 boys are born for every 100 girls.
The whole issue of workplace safety in China has been on my mind recently. Here are some other stories and references:
Death Penalty for China Fireworks Plant Boss
Thursday, December 23, 2004
AP via Fox News
A Chinese factory boss has been sentenced to death for illegally producing fireworks in a workshop where 36 people were killed in an explosion last year, the government said Thursday.
Chen Jicheng set up the unlicensed factory late last year in the northeastern city of Tieling in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The factory had only been open for three days when an explosion on Dec. 30, 2003, tore apart its two workshops, killing 36 people.
The factory's manager, You Tao, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for producing illegal fireworks, it said.
China's fireworks industry suffers hundreds of deaths every year in fires and explosions. The industry employs thousands of people, often in poor rural areas, who do much of the work by hand.
An interesting site is Asian Labour
Asian Labour An online database of news about workers in Southeast Asia and China and the issues that affect them , including a fairly new category of Labour Stats Such data is sparse and hard to find on the internet. There are also pointers on that web site to many other web resources.
The article goes on to say that this will raise coal prices, and that's not a bad thing, because so much is wasted because it's so cheap, it's also an ecological problem.
Another article in Newsday puts this into context:
China's Legislature Gears Up for Session
The annual meeting of China's legislature may be little more than tightly scripted political theater, but in a country where all decisions are made in secret, it offers a rare peek behind the curtain.
Later, the author writes:
So much else in China is changing day by day -- from business to technology and even village governance -- but the National People's Congress remains a relic of years gone by. Still, the annual spectacle offers a glimpse into the intentions of a government increasingly sure of China's rising global status and able to swiftly crack down on any opposition to one-party rule.
Topping this year's agenda is an anti-secession law aimed at curbing pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan[... .]
In closed-door sessions, delegates will discuss eliminating graft, improving workplace safety, lifting rural incomes and protecting China's ravaged environment, while avoiding any challenges to current policy or leaders.
They also plan to debate how to discourage the abortion of female fetuses in a country where 117 boys are born for every 100 girls.
The whole issue of workplace safety in China has been on my mind recently. Here are some other stories and references:
Death Penalty for China Fireworks Plant Boss
Thursday, December 23, 2004
AP via Fox News
A Chinese factory boss has been sentenced to death for illegally producing fireworks in a workshop where 36 people were killed in an explosion last year, the government said Thursday.
Chen Jicheng set up the unlicensed factory late last year in the northeastern city of Tieling in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The factory had only been open for three days when an explosion on Dec. 30, 2003, tore apart its two workshops, killing 36 people.
The factory's manager, You Tao, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for producing illegal fireworks, it said.
China's fireworks industry suffers hundreds of deaths every year in fires and explosions. The industry employs thousands of people, often in poor rural areas, who do much of the work by hand.
An interesting site is Asian Labour
Asian Labour An online database of news about workers in Southeast Asia and China and the issues that affect them , including a fairly new category of Labour Stats Such data is sparse and hard to find on the internet. There are also pointers on that web site to many other web resources.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
China blast comes after 2002 safety law change
Kansas City Star
China's worst reported mining disaster since communist rule began in 1949 came three years after officials had promised to overhaul the nation's workplace safety system.
In October 2002, the government created China's first safety laws and launched a nationwide effort that included workplace inspectors. Despite those efforts, deadly accidents have continued to plague the country's coal mines and factories.
Last year more than 6,000 miners died in fires, floods and explosions — an average of about 16 workers per day. The country accounts for 80 percent of the world's coal mining fatalities.
Experts say the new laws have not been matched with adequate education or enforcement. Many blame China's demand for coal and its booming economy for tempting mine owners and workers to cut safety corners.
China is the world's top producer of coal, with 1.9 billion tons extracted last year, 10 percent more than in 2003.
Fuxin is in one of China's oldest coal mining regions, and many of its mines have been depleted, according to state media reports. Miners must tunnel far underground to reach coal seams, and the risk of explosion due to methane gas is high.
Monday's disaster was the deadliest reported by the government since the 1949 communist revolution. Until the late 1990s, when the government regularly began announcing statistics on mining deaths, many industrial accidents were never disclosed.
China's worst reported mining disaster since communist rule began in 1949 came three years after officials had promised to overhaul the nation's workplace safety system.
In October 2002, the government created China's first safety laws and launched a nationwide effort that included workplace inspectors. Despite those efforts, deadly accidents have continued to plague the country's coal mines and factories.
Last year more than 6,000 miners died in fires, floods and explosions — an average of about 16 workers per day. The country accounts for 80 percent of the world's coal mining fatalities.
Experts say the new laws have not been matched with adequate education or enforcement. Many blame China's demand for coal and its booming economy for tempting mine owners and workers to cut safety corners.
China is the world's top producer of coal, with 1.9 billion tons extracted last year, 10 percent more than in 2003.
Fuxin is in one of China's oldest coal mining regions, and many of its mines have been depleted, according to state media reports. Miners must tunnel far underground to reach coal seams, and the risk of explosion due to methane gas is high.
Monday's disaster was the deadliest reported by the government since the 1949 communist revolution. Until the late 1990s, when the government regularly began announcing statistics on mining deaths, many industrial accidents were never disclosed.
20 years' wages likely for families of killed Chinese mine workers
The Standard
China plans to set up a common workers' compensation standard, granting up to 20 years' salary in the event of death or injury caused by a workplace accident determined to be entirely the fault of an employer.
The move is designed to make it prohibitively expensive for employers, particularly in the fatality-plagued mining and construction industries, to leave dangerous working conditions unremedied.
It would also encourage them to take out accident insurance on their staff, said Jing Bao, an official publication, quoting Cao Zongli, an official with the regulation department of the State Administration of Work Safety.
Though new regulations designed to foster workplace safety were introduced a year ago, many industries that depend on low-paid migrant workers still refuse to buy employee accident coverage.
On Monday, a fatal gas explosion killed 210 coal miners in Fuxin, Liaoning province. Their employer was said to have forced miners to sign a contract specifying maximum compensation of 20,000 yuan (HK$18,860) in the event of a fatal accident at work.
China plans to set up a common workers' compensation standard, granting up to 20 years' salary in the event of death or injury caused by a workplace accident determined to be entirely the fault of an employer.
The move is designed to make it prohibitively expensive for employers, particularly in the fatality-plagued mining and construction industries, to leave dangerous working conditions unremedied.
It would also encourage them to take out accident insurance on their staff, said Jing Bao, an official publication, quoting Cao Zongli, an official with the regulation department of the State Administration of Work Safety.
Though new regulations designed to foster workplace safety were introduced a year ago, many industries that depend on low-paid migrant workers still refuse to buy employee accident coverage.
On Monday, a fatal gas explosion killed 210 coal miners in Fuxin, Liaoning province. Their employer was said to have forced miners to sign a contract specifying maximum compensation of 20,000 yuan (HK$18,860) in the event of a fatal accident at work.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Chinese coal mine blast kills 25 dead, many trapped underground
Radio Australia
At least 25 miners have been killed and 194 others are believed to be trapped underground, after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northeastern China.
Chinese state media reports another 19 miners have been injured in the blast in Fuxin city.
Mining accidents and fatalities are an almost daily occurrence in China.
China's coal industry is the most dangerous in the world, with more than 6,000 workers dying in mining accidents last year.
The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, ordered better work safety conditions during a visit last month to a coal mine where 166 miners died in November.
At least 25 miners have been killed and 194 others are believed to be trapped underground, after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northeastern China.
Chinese state media reports another 19 miners have been injured in the blast in Fuxin city.
Mining accidents and fatalities are an almost daily occurrence in China.
China's coal industry is the most dangerous in the world, with more than 6,000 workers dying in mining accidents last year.
The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, ordered better work safety conditions during a visit last month to a coal mine where 166 miners died in November.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Workplace accidents down, but more deaths
After reading the article about a workplace accident in a steel mill, I got curious about the Chinese workplace safety record. I couldn't find much that was current and on point. This article, from April of 2004, was interesting. Accidents were down, but more deaths resulted from the smaller number of accidents. The numbers are large, but you have to factor in the total population of China is also large.
China Daily.com (english edition)
Although total accidents were 4.1 per cent lower than the same period of last year, the death toll climbed 2.4 per cent.
He attributed the situation to the country's continuous safety inspections, specialized rectifications and the building of a legal system on workplace safety.
Major accidents and deaths were reported from road traffic accidents, coal mines or other industrial sector incidents, trade and commercial enterprise accidents, fires and waterways and railway traffic incidents, according to statistics.
Road traffic accidents remain the top killer, with 30,733 people killed in 167,463 reported cases. Such deaths and accidents accounted for 80.5 per cent and 58.2 per cent of the country's total, respectively, over the past four months.
Coal-related deaths dropped 25 per cent during January-April period with 1,267 deaths reported in 854 registered cases. The total output of coal was up 19 per cent up over the same period the previous year.
Fortunately, extremely serious accidents -- each with a death toll of more than 30 people --dropped.
However, following soaring prices and an increasing domestic demand for chemical products, more serious accidents took place over the past few weeks in that field due to outdated technology, ageing facilities and poor management.
Nine people were killed by a blowout involving chemical products in a factory in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality on April 16.
Three workers were poisoned to death in Maoming, in South China's Guangdong Province, on April 19 after chemicals leaked at a local refinery.
'Such accidents resulted in 23 deaths, the poisonings of 300 others and more than 150,000 people had to be evacuated during emergency operations from April 16 to 24, shocking all of society,' Wang [Xianzheng, an official of the State Administration of Work Safety] disclosed.
The same issue of China Daily had some other interesting safety related articles:
Road accidents kill 300 a day in China
Latest research shows that every day in China at least 300 people are killed in traffic accidents, ranking the country top in the world for both the death toll and the death rate. And the figure is accelerating by 10 per cent every year.
"It was a little ironic as the overall number of vehicles in China is far smaller than that in Western countries, while the death rate from road accidents is much higher," said an academic surnamed Wang who was quoted in the China Youth Daily.
"According to our research, the death toll and death rate per 10,000 automobiles here is eight times more than that in America," he said.
The most important factor was still the negligence of drivers. Statistics showed that last year some 78.5 per cent of the deaths, about 86,000 people, were caused by improper driving.
Punishment for negligent drivers is said to be too lenient due to a failure of the relevant laws to catch up with current conditions.
But they do seem to be cracking down on enforcement officials who are slacking off at their posts ... In April they published this article
Official sacked for accidents
A deputy commissioner in Shanxi Province was sacked after coal mining accidents that killed 141 and caused millions of yuan in damages in 2002 and 2003.
According to a report in Sunday's Shanxi Daily, he showed poor leadership in allowing illegal coal mines operations. He was in charge of safety at coal mines and was also the former director of the area's Work Safety Committee.
Several months earlier, they had set a goal, still awfully weak sounding to me, but I'm no mining expert.
China aims to cut coal mine death toll by 30 percent by 2007
China has set the target of lowering the death toll in coal mine accidents from 7,000 a year at present to 5,000 by 2007.
But it doesn't seem to be working. Check out this article in December 2004:
China's mining sector sounds the alarm
An explosion at Chenjiashan Coal Mine in the northwestern province of Shaanxi on November 28 and a gas explosion in a Guizhou mine in Southwest China on December 1 once again added to China's dismal safety record in the mining industry.
The death toll in Sunday's gas blast has reached 166, making it the worst since a September 2000 explosion at Muchonggou Coal Mine in Guizhou Province claimed 162 lives.
China's coal mines have been haunted by death. On October 20 a deadly gas blast in Daping of central Henan Province killed 148.
In the first nine months of this year, 4,153 coal miners were killed in fires, explosions, floods or other disasters, statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety show.
The administration said China reported 80 per cent of the world's total coal mining-related deaths, although it produced only 35 per cent of the world's coal.
In fact, the staggering number of coal mining accidents and deaths represent only part of the serious work safety problems in the world's most populous nation.
China has seen an annual average of about 1 million industrial accidents since 2001, according to the State Administration of Work Safety, with nearly 140,000 deaths each year.
Economic losses incurred in the accidents are estimated to top US$180 billion annually, according to Luo Yun, a researcher at the Chinese University of Geology.
The professor, director of the university's Work Safety Research Centre, long warned against a sharp rise in workplace accidents amid China's fast economic growth.
"That's because the contradiction between China's booming economy and its weak production safety foundation is going to the extreme," he said.
And, of course, mining is where steel begins, both for iron ore and for coal. So this is very much tied up in the steel business.
I especially found this part, later in the same article, to be of interest.
What is to blame?
Media commentator Li Wangang said the industrial development history of Western countries should not be used to justify China's high frequency of workplace accidents at present.
"As a developing country, China should have learned lessons from developed nations and thus does not need to relive their painful experiences," he said.
Luo went further to stress that in theory all workplace accidents are technical risks and can be prevented through adequate precautionary measures.
But unfortunately, there has been rampant negligence of work safety around the country, says Zhang Baoming, former director of the State Administration of Work Safety.
He said almost all industrial accidents in China were caused by human errors, except a few that resulted from natural factors.
Zhang points to widespread practices of being preoccupied with economic growth while disregarding the life and health of labourers, the government's lax supervision on safety as well as poor enforcement of related laws and regulations.
"If unchecked, the upward spiral in workplace accidents will not only cause great damage to our society but also pose a grave test to social justice and government credibility," says Zhang, now a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The recent series of accidents have drawn particular attention as market demand for coal continues to soar in China.
As the Chinese economy grows at full steam, there has been a dire need for coal, which supplies two-thirds of the country's total energy and generates 80 per cent of its electricity.
Work safety experts say increased production has forced coal mines to their maximum capacity, triggering more potential risks.
China Daily.com (english edition)
Although total accidents were 4.1 per cent lower than the same period of last year, the death toll climbed 2.4 per cent.
He attributed the situation to the country's continuous safety inspections, specialized rectifications and the building of a legal system on workplace safety.
Major accidents and deaths were reported from road traffic accidents, coal mines or other industrial sector incidents, trade and commercial enterprise accidents, fires and waterways and railway traffic incidents, according to statistics.
Road traffic accidents remain the top killer, with 30,733 people killed in 167,463 reported cases. Such deaths and accidents accounted for 80.5 per cent and 58.2 per cent of the country's total, respectively, over the past four months.
Coal-related deaths dropped 25 per cent during January-April period with 1,267 deaths reported in 854 registered cases. The total output of coal was up 19 per cent up over the same period the previous year.
Fortunately, extremely serious accidents -- each with a death toll of more than 30 people --dropped.
However, following soaring prices and an increasing domestic demand for chemical products, more serious accidents took place over the past few weeks in that field due to outdated technology, ageing facilities and poor management.
Nine people were killed by a blowout involving chemical products in a factory in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality on April 16.
Three workers were poisoned to death in Maoming, in South China's Guangdong Province, on April 19 after chemicals leaked at a local refinery.
'Such accidents resulted in 23 deaths, the poisonings of 300 others and more than 150,000 people had to be evacuated during emergency operations from April 16 to 24, shocking all of society,' Wang [Xianzheng, an official of the State Administration of Work Safety] disclosed.
The same issue of China Daily had some other interesting safety related articles:
Road accidents kill 300 a day in China
Latest research shows that every day in China at least 300 people are killed in traffic accidents, ranking the country top in the world for both the death toll and the death rate. And the figure is accelerating by 10 per cent every year.
"It was a little ironic as the overall number of vehicles in China is far smaller than that in Western countries, while the death rate from road accidents is much higher," said an academic surnamed Wang who was quoted in the China Youth Daily.
"According to our research, the death toll and death rate per 10,000 automobiles here is eight times more than that in America," he said.
The most important factor was still the negligence of drivers. Statistics showed that last year some 78.5 per cent of the deaths, about 86,000 people, were caused by improper driving.
Punishment for negligent drivers is said to be too lenient due to a failure of the relevant laws to catch up with current conditions.
But they do seem to be cracking down on enforcement officials who are slacking off at their posts ... In April they published this article
Official sacked for accidents
A deputy commissioner in Shanxi Province was sacked after coal mining accidents that killed 141 and caused millions of yuan in damages in 2002 and 2003.
According to a report in Sunday's Shanxi Daily, he showed poor leadership in allowing illegal coal mines operations. He was in charge of safety at coal mines and was also the former director of the area's Work Safety Committee.
Several months earlier, they had set a goal, still awfully weak sounding to me, but I'm no mining expert.
China aims to cut coal mine death toll by 30 percent by 2007
China has set the target of lowering the death toll in coal mine accidents from 7,000 a year at present to 5,000 by 2007.
But it doesn't seem to be working. Check out this article in December 2004:
China's mining sector sounds the alarm
An explosion at Chenjiashan Coal Mine in the northwestern province of Shaanxi on November 28 and a gas explosion in a Guizhou mine in Southwest China on December 1 once again added to China's dismal safety record in the mining industry.
The death toll in Sunday's gas blast has reached 166, making it the worst since a September 2000 explosion at Muchonggou Coal Mine in Guizhou Province claimed 162 lives.
China's coal mines have been haunted by death. On October 20 a deadly gas blast in Daping of central Henan Province killed 148.
In the first nine months of this year, 4,153 coal miners were killed in fires, explosions, floods or other disasters, statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety show.
The administration said China reported 80 per cent of the world's total coal mining-related deaths, although it produced only 35 per cent of the world's coal.
In fact, the staggering number of coal mining accidents and deaths represent only part of the serious work safety problems in the world's most populous nation.
China has seen an annual average of about 1 million industrial accidents since 2001, according to the State Administration of Work Safety, with nearly 140,000 deaths each year.
Economic losses incurred in the accidents are estimated to top US$180 billion annually, according to Luo Yun, a researcher at the Chinese University of Geology.
The professor, director of the university's Work Safety Research Centre, long warned against a sharp rise in workplace accidents amid China's fast economic growth.
"That's because the contradiction between China's booming economy and its weak production safety foundation is going to the extreme," he said.
And, of course, mining is where steel begins, both for iron ore and for coal. So this is very much tied up in the steel business.
I especially found this part, later in the same article, to be of interest.
What is to blame?
Media commentator Li Wangang said the industrial development history of Western countries should not be used to justify China's high frequency of workplace accidents at present.
"As a developing country, China should have learned lessons from developed nations and thus does not need to relive their painful experiences," he said.
Luo went further to stress that in theory all workplace accidents are technical risks and can be prevented through adequate precautionary measures.
But unfortunately, there has been rampant negligence of work safety around the country, says Zhang Baoming, former director of the State Administration of Work Safety.
He said almost all industrial accidents in China were caused by human errors, except a few that resulted from natural factors.
Zhang points to widespread practices of being preoccupied with economic growth while disregarding the life and health of labourers, the government's lax supervision on safety as well as poor enforcement of related laws and regulations.
"If unchecked, the upward spiral in workplace accidents will not only cause great damage to our society but also pose a grave test to social justice and government credibility," says Zhang, now a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The recent series of accidents have drawn particular attention as market demand for coal continues to soar in China.
As the Chinese economy grows at full steam, there has been a dire need for coal, which supplies two-thirds of the country's total energy and generates 80 per cent of its electricity.
Work safety experts say increased production has forced coal mines to their maximum capacity, triggering more potential risks.
