b'2American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comBREAKBULK QUARTERLY Chinas steel production spikes after lockdowns endBut with global economies slowing, where will it end up?By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTChinaszero-COVIDmea- although the data have been suresplacedsevererestric- mixed. Reading the tea leaves tions on the countrys economicwhenitcomestoChinas activities.Butlatein2022,economy and its steel indus-facedwithgrowingpublictry, on the other hand, yields demandstoendthelock- a decidedly negative outlook.downs,thegovernmentdidThe World Steel Organi-anaboutfaceandreopenedzation(WSO)reportedthat the economy.Chinassteelproductionin That risky reversal led toMarch was up 6.9% compared increasedlevelsofCOVIDto March 2022 and 6.1% year infectionsanddeaths,intheto date. Those figures grew on short run, and additional local- Februarysnumbers,which FMT large terminal at Port of Hamilton on Lake Ontario, part of LOGISTECs acquisition.Photo courtesy of Fednav. ized lockdowns, but the spreadshowed a 5.6% increase over oftheviruswasreportedtoFebruary 2022, and the same LOGISTEC sees strong outlookhave abated relatively quickly.yeartodate.Globalproduc-Anotherresultofthepolicytionincreasedby1.7%in changewasajumpinsteelMarch and decreased by 1.0% following FMT acquisition production in China, thanks toin February. Marchperfor-the reopening of factories. ItChinas still remains to be seen, how- mance outpaced other major By Leo Ryan, AJOT ever, whether those increasedsteelproducersbyalong volumes of steel will be ableshot.Indiassteelproduc-The recent acquisition of the Canadian anding, a subsidiary of the parent company, com- tobeabsorbeddomesticallytionwasup2.7%,aswas U.S. terminal business of Fednav Limited haspleted the purchase for US$105 million of Federaland or internationally. Italys,whileRussiasand added a major new dimension to the operationsMarine Terminals, thereby acquiring 11 terminalsGermanysoutputremained ofMontreal-basedLOGISTECCorporationon the U.S. East Coast, the Great Lakes and GulfS teel : M ixedR eSultS flat. Japan, the United States, thatMadeleinePaquin,president,andCEO,handling bulk, breakbulk, container and projectMany economists are insist- Brazil,andTurkeywereall regards as a building block to still greater thingscargo. With the biggest transaction in its his- ingthataglobaleconomicdown, the latter two by 8.7% in the North American marine industry. tory of more than 70 years, LOGISTEC hasdownturnisinstore,which(SPIKEScontinued on It was on April 3 that LOGISTEC Stevedor- (STRONGcontinued on page 26) would depress steel demand,page 8)EUROPE - GREAT LAKES SERVICELiner servicebetween Europeand the Great LakesContainer service between Antwerp and Valleyfield, Cleveland and Duluth CONTAINERS Liner owned equipment door-to-door serviceBULK CARGOMore info:www.spliethoff.com orPROJECT [email protected]'