Dalian: Ship recycling yards in China are anticipating a deluge of business as owners rush to cash in before steel prices fall further. Recycling prices for old vessels have already dropped by more than 25% in the past quarter and steel prices globally continue to fall.
Leading steel producers such as Baosteel Group, Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group have cut the July factory prices of their products by about 200 yuan per ton. Current steel prices have dropped around 800 yuan per ton compared with the same period in 2011.
“Shipowners need to cash in now as freight rates are unlikely to rise much this year, while scrap prices will slide further,” a broker in Dalian told SinoShip News. [03/07/12]
