CRU: When Should Idled Steel Capacity be Restarted - How CRU Consulting's Real Options Tools and Services Can Deliver a Commercial, Risk-assessed Decision

LONDON, July 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Covid-19 pandemic has generated significant uncertainty in the commodities market. Steel mill operators, for example, have responded by making capacity reductions, idling facilities or making full-blown closures.

Such tough decisions rest on assessments of a complex mix of market, asset and policy-related considerations. However, traditional scenario-based decision analysis does not take proper account of the value of flexibility associated with different approaches to managing excess supply. In this Insight we show how CRU Consulting's Real Options capabilities can be used to help quantify and evaluate the range of financial outcomes in a way which takes account of critical interdependencies, thereby enabling better informed choices that are fully aligned with the risk preferences of individual firms.

Producers are facing massive disruptions due to Covid-19

Covid-19 has led to massive disruption across the global economy, critically impacting steel and other commodity industries. Global steel sheet demand, for example, is set to fall by 20% y/y in 2020 Q2 and by around 8% for the year. Such unprecedented and adverse market conditions raise fundamental issues for steel makers and other commodity producers regarding the management of their assets and portfolios.

Steel mill operators have responded by making capacity reductions, idling facilities or full-blown closures. Most recently, ArcelorMittal have announced that it has stopped output at its Zenica works in Bosnia. As of mid-April, aggregate carbon crude steel disruptions reached ~115Mt. These operating responses are closely monitored by CRU's steel disruptions tracker.

Read the full story:
https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/spotlights/2020/when-should-idled-steel-capacity-be-restarted/ 

Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU

About CRU

CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events.

Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China.

CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia – our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018.

When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response.

CRU – big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers.

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