China Restricts Some Steel Production

China’s efforts to drastically reduce pollution levels could lead to lower demand for iron ore, a raw material for the steel industry, which is a big source of the nation’s harmful emissions.

It hasn’t happened yet, however. “With the Chinese economy almost fully recovered from the pandemic, demand for steel is very strong,” which means that demand for iron ore is also very strong, says John Kartsonas, a managing partner at Breakwave Advisors, the advisor for the Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping exchange-traded fund (ticker: BDRY).

At the same time, iron-ore supply remains tight, with Brazil, a major producer of the commodity, not fully recovered from a deadly accident two years ago that hurt production, he says. In 2019, Vale halted some mining operations following a fatal dam breach in Brazil, leading to significant declines in its iron-ore output. Vale pegged its production of iron-ore fines at 300.4 million metric tons in 2020, compared with nearly 384.2 million metric tons in 2018.

Tight supplies and rising demand helped lift the most-active futures contract for 62% iron-ore fines delivered to China to US$174.94 per metric ton on March 4, the highest settlement since August 2011, based on Dow Jones Market Data reports going back to October 2010. That’s not far from the record-high settlement of US$188.88 from February 2011.

China produced more than one billion metric tons of crude steel last year, and there are “no iron-ore projects that will produce sizeable net new tons for at least five years,” says Paul Bartholomew, a metals analyst at S&P Global Platts. Expectations for further Chinese economic stimulus are also positive for steel and iron-ore demand, he says.

Iron-ore prices, however, have eased in recent days on prospects of a slowdown in demand, as China plans to reduce factory activity to cut carbon emissions. The March contract was at US$168.26 on March 16, trading 2.6% lower month to date.

Tangshan, a city in China’s Hebei province referred to as the nation’s steelmaking hub, has ordered factories to limit or halt production on days when a heavy-pollution alert is in place, to cut overall emissions by 50%, according to the South China Morning Post.

“Steelmaking is a major source of pollution in China, estimated to account for about 15% of the country’s total emissions, so it is hardly surprising investors took profits at the prospect the steel industry could be facing significant environmental controls,” says Stuart Burns, editor at large for metals analysis provider MetalMiner. “The first casualty of reduced steel production would be demand for raw materials,” he says.

Still, China might not be able to fully implement restrictions on steel production. Reducing steel output may be “difficult to achieve this year,” says Bartholomew. In the past, many facilities taken offline were already “mothballed or uneconomic,” he says. “It’s harder to close production when mills are operating and making money.”

The VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (SLX), which provides exposure to companies involved in the steel sector, has climbed about 10% this month.

Given China’s restrictions on operations of some highly pollutant steel mills, however, Breakwave’s Kartsonas says he is now “a bit more cautious” on the outlook for iron-ore prices.

Brazil has signalled an increase in iron-ore production. That, in combination with China’s pollution restrictions, could lead to “more moderate” prices in the next several months, he says. Still, if demand for construction continues to support steel, that means iron-ore prices can remain “higher than historical averages for a long time.”

Note: Usual Northern Sea Route shown for illustrative purposes Source: Sea Legend Daniel Kiss/WSJ

Shipping cargo through an Arctic shortcut never made economic sense—until now.

Climate change and war in the Middle East are flipping the math that previously kept ships plying longer routes from Asia to Europe. A Chinese company on Saturday is starting the first regular cargo service to Europe through Arctic waters, seeking to reap the benefits of quicker travel time and less fuel use.

The shipper Sea Legend will dispatch the Dubai Tower from Ningbo, China, to Felixstowe in the U.K. on what it calls the Arctic Express, following a route along Russia’s north coast. The voyage by the vessel, which is capable of carrying 1,740 20-foot containers, is the biggest commercial step in the Arctic since a Maersk containership first completed the route in 2018.

Global warming is a big factor behind the new route, but it is not the only one. Nearly half the Arctic region’s summer ice—an area four times the size of Texas—has melted over five decades, clearing a fairly reliable path in the summer months. Meanwhile, high oil prices and attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have made the traditional routes costlier and more dangerous.

Members of China's 16th Arctic Ocean scientific expedition team take selfies on the ice surface. — Members of a Chinese scientific expedition team on surface ice in the Arctic Ocean this week. Wen Jinghua/Xinhua/ZUMA Press

Beyond that, Beijing has ambitions to play a role in the Arctic’s future, lending a geopolitical dimension to the Chinese company’s shipping route.

Last year Sea Legend completed a trial run from Asia to Europe in a record 20 days. That is roughly half the time of a voyage via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope that many carriers now take because of the Red Sea uncertainty.

Fuel accounts for 70% or more of the costs while at sea, said Alan Murphy, a former Maersk analyst who runs research firm Sea-Intelligence.

Saving fuel by shortening the journey doesn’t automatically make a route profitable. Insurance premiums for the Arctic are 40% higher than the Cape of Good Hope route, said Jonathan Steenberg, an economist at credit insurer Coface. Sea Legend’s Arctic vessels are relatively small. And even after warming, an icebreaker is still sometimes needed to help the cargo ship.

But if the ship can go without an icebreaker, Coface said the Arctic route is now cheaper than a Cape of Good Hope voyage in some circumstances. It estimated that at current oil prices of around $90, the cost of shipping liquid bulk such as liquefied natural gas could drop roughly 33% compared with the Cape of Good Hope route, while dry bulk goods such as cereals would cost about 8% less.

The container ship Istanbul Bridge being unloaded by large blue and red cranes at the port of Gdansk. — A containership operated by Sea Legend in the port of Gdansk, Poland. jackowski/epa/Shutterstock

The route is only passable in the summer and fall. Sea Legend plans eight voyages between August and late October, before conditions get too icy.

“It’s not the Suez Canal but it’s a significant number for the Arctic. It shows there is potential,” said Malte Humpert, founder of the U.S.-based Arctic Institute and author of a book on Chinese shipping in the Arctic.

Even in summer, ships have to navigate around dangerous ice floes and deal with rapidly changing weather. By the end of the shipping season in October, the sky is dark most of the time.

A Russian tanker suffered serious damage to its hull while sailing along the Arctic route despite being assisted by an icebreaker, its insurer, AlfaStrakhovanie, said Thursday, adding that it paid out roughly $650,000.

Coface estimates 3.5% of trade among East Asia, Europe and North America will be able to use Arctic routes within the next five years, representing $64 billion in goods.

Last summer, a record 23 cargo ships transited the Northern Sea Route, which hugs Russia’s north coast. That is tiny compared with the Suez Canal, where more than 30 ships transited daily.

Western companies that want to follow in Sea Legend’s path have to navigate treacherous politics. Russia claims sovereignty over the entire Northern Sea Route and permits for ship traffic are issued by its state-controlled nuclear operator, Rosatom.

Aerial view of a port with many cargo ships, red cranes, and rows of stacked shipping containers. — The Dubai Tower’s route will begin in the Chinese port of Ningbo. Huang Zongzhi/ZUMA Press

“Western companies are in a tricky position,” said Humpert of the Arctic Institute. “At what point do they jump back in the water? When does it become economically necessary, and how do you weigh that against environmental risks and the political dimension?”

An alternative Arctic route, the Northwest Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Canadian Arctic, is less passable because it is dominated by narrow waterways where ice gets bunched up. The highest number of cargo ships completing the passage in a year was 13, in 2023.

China has declared itself a near-Arctic state despite not having access to Arctic waters. It depends on Russia’s goodwill to use the Northern Sea Route.

“Beijing is concerned that if they don’t establish a significant strategic presence in the Arctic now, it’s going to be more difficult in the future,” said Marc Lanteigne, expert in polar geopolitics at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. However, he said, “China needs to be careful not to give the impression that they are trying to challenge the strategic order in the Arctic.”

Sea Legend didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Any polar venture contributes to China’s quest to master Arctic travel. The country also has three icebreakers and a support vessel currently on a monthslong scientific expedition north of Greenland. Scientific and commercial voyages can yield data about natural resources awaiting below melting ice caps and information for positioning nuclear-armed submarines.

China Restricts Some Steel Production

How that will weigh on iron-ore demand.

China is launching the first regular Arctic cargo route to Europe, offering faster journeys and lower fuel costs as melting ice and Red Sea risks reshape global shipping.