Issue 47, 2024 - This week's editorial: Europe M&A punctures gloom, Chinese prices tick up

Last week confirmed that Europe is a bottomless pit of negative news, but there were also positive M&A developments. ArcelorMittal was said to be considering closing two service centres in France, while Ford became the latest carmaker to scale back operations in Europe amid the depressed economic climate. Turkish scrap prices collapsed to a two-year low amid bearish sentiment, causing some suppliers to withdraw from the market. In China, iron ore prices rebounded to over $100/t on expectations for additional stimulus, while Chinese hot rolled coil export values ticked up $5/t amid Vietnamese buying.

ArcelorMittal's French service centre division was reported to be considering the closure of the Reims and Denain service centres amid the downturn in its industry and automotive segments. This comes after the news that ArcelorMittal's distribution branch in Bologna, Italy, is set to permanently close on 31 December.

Volkswagen caused an outcry in recent weeks after it announced plans to shutter three plants in Germany. Now, in a further damning indication of the state of Europe’s automotive sector, Ford announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs in the continent by 2027, of which 2,900 will be in Germany. The carmaker pointed to consecutive years of losses in its passenger car segment and the weakness of its e-cars portfolio.

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