Russia’s Alexey Ugarov OMEK, which is a part of Metalloinvest shipped out 103,493 mt of special bar quality (SBQ) rolled steel to its customers in November. The company noted that this was the highest monthly shipment of SBQ since 2016.
While most shipments were made in the domestic Russia/CIS region, 32pc of the SBQ sales were exported. Notably, SBQ is a high quality steel grade mostly in the automotive production of engine parts and components with key customers being Peugeot, Skoda and Volkswagen, among others. It is also used in manufacturing of parts for aircrafts and maritime vessels.
The increase in sales of SBQ mean better profitability for OEMK, but more importantly show recovery signs for the automotive components industry in the region, leading to better steel demand.