ArcelorMittal cuts steel demand forecast beats profit expectations: ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, lowered its steel shipments forecast on Thursday for this year, as it reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations. The group said global steel demand excluding China is expected to grow 1% to 2% this year, down from a previously forecast range of 2-3%, due to higher U.S. interest rates and weak construction activity in Europe. "We have delivered a strong set of financials in the first half of the year, which reflect the improved market conditions and also the positive impact of recent strategic acquisitions," Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal's CEO, said in a statement. "ArcelorMittal has lowered its expectations for global steel consumption to +1%-+2% from +2%-+3%, mainly due to softening of market conditions in the US, Europe and Brazil, but this seems already fairly reflected in FY EBITDA consensus of $7.7 billion, which implies a 25% sequential decline in 2H23," ING analyst Stijn Demeester said in a note. Source: Reuters Click

Ocean shippers playing catch up to electric vehicle fire risk: Electric vehicles are crisscrossing the globe to reach their eager buyers, but the battery technology involved in the zero- emission automobiles is exposing under-prepared maritime shippers to the risk of hard-to-control fires, industry, insurance, and emergency response officials said. That risk has been put under the spotlight by the burning car carrier drifting off the Dutch coast. The Dutch coastguard said the fire's cause was unknown, but Dutch broadcaster RTL released a recording in which an emergency responder is heard saying "the fire started in the battery of an electric car." While all logistics companies deal with the risk of EV lithium-ion batteries burning with twice the energy of a normal fire, the maritime industry hasn't kept up with the developing technology and how it creates greater risk, maritime officials and insurers said. There were 209 ship fires reported during 2022, the highest number in a decade and 17% more than in 2021, according to a report from insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) (ALVG.DE). Of that total, 13 occurred on car carriers, but how many involved EVs was not available. Source: Reuters Click

LME's Russian aluminum dilemma set to become more acute: The London Metal Exchange (LME) is coming under renewed pressure to exclude Russian aluminum from its warehouse system. Norwegian producer Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL) has called for the exchange to reconsider its decision last November to continue accepting deliveries of Russian metal. With Russian brands accounting for 80% of warranted aluminum stocks at the end of June, the LME contract is at risk of losing its benchmark status, Hydro warned. There are no government sanctions on Russian aluminum and the LME said in response that "we note that all metals of Russian origin continue to be consumed by a broad section of the market." Russian producer Rusal (RUAL.MM) has also hit back with its own warning that excluding its brands from the LME would be "highly destructive" to the market structure. The company said it "continues to witness a broad acceptance of its low-carbon aluminum to a wide range of global consumers from across the world." Source: Reuters Click

Auto parts distributor LKQ cuts profit outlook as commodity costs bite: Auto parts distributor LKQ Corp (LKQ.O) lowered its full-year profit and sales guidance on Thursday, as falling commodity prices drag down growth prospects. LKQ, which also sells scrap and other materials to metal recyclers, have been hurt by falling metal prices. The company had earlier forecast metal prices to be a headwind in coming quarters. Supply chain disruptions, although improving, also continues to be a road bump for the auto industry as suppliers and producers grapple with raw material shortages, freight delays and high prices for energy and labor. "(Q2) performances offset a steep year-over-year downturn in commodity prices, impacting our Self-Service segment and the decrease in demand for our Specialty segment's offerings, headwinds that will impact these segments for the balance of 2023" CEO Dominick Zarcone said in a statement. Source: Reuters Click

Norfolk Southern’ s profit halves on new $416 million Ohio derailment charge: Norfolk Southern Corp's (NSC.N) second-quarter profit tumbled 55% after the U.S. railroad operator recorded a fresh $416 million charge associated with the Eastern Ohio freight train derailment. The derailment of one of its freight trains carrying hazardous materials in February led to a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department seeking to ensure that the company paid the full cost of the cleanup and any future long-term impact. The company took a $387 million charge in the first quarter related to the derailment. Meanwhile, Norfolk is also struggling with an industry-wide decline in freight volumes as consumer spending preferences shift to services from goods. Norfolk, which has connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes, reported an adjusted profit of $2.95 per share, below analysts' estimates of $3.11.Source: Reuters Click

Peru's Southern Copper starts legal action to evict illegal miners: Southern Copper, one of Peru's largest copper producers, said on Thursday it has started legal actions to oust "illegal miners" that are occupying and slowing development of one of its key projects. In its quarterly report, the company said that part of its Los Chancas project "continues to be occupied by illegal miners" as of the end of June, 75 of whom had irregularly registered in a state mining formalization program. Some small-scale miners have claimed ownership over the Las Chancas area. Southern Copper (SCCO.N), (SPCCPI1.LM) is owned by Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) and is seeking to develop Los Chancas, located in the southern Apurimac region, with an estimated investment of $2.6 billion. Los Chancas is crucial to the mining group's goal of producing 1.8 million metric tons of copper a year by 2030. Los Chancas would produce some 130,000 tons of copper a year. The mining company said that in addition to the expelling the miners, it is seeking to "confiscate illegally extracted minerals". Source: Reuters Click

Chipmakers signal supply glut easing but demand recovery still slow: From Intel (INTC.O) to Samsung (005930.KS), global chipmakers are celebrating the beginning of the end of a semiconductor supply glut, but the outlook for demand from customers outside the artificial intelligence (AI) industry remains gloomy. All the major markets for chips - smartphones, PCs and data centres - have shrunk this year, as both corporate customers and consumers scale back spending amid a weak global economy, high inflation and rising interest rates. This has created an unprecedented oversupply of commodity chips, causing a record combined 15.2 trillion won ($12 billion) first-half operating loss for the world's two largest memory chipmakers, Samsung, and SK Hynix (000660.KS). This glut, however, has started to ease largely due to production cuts and as a decline in PC shipments eased to 11% in the June quarter compared to a 30% slump in each of the previous two quarters, data from tech analysts Canalys showed. Source: Reuters Click