Jeton Sadiku on COVID-19 and the Impact on Steel Trading and the Metals Industry

COVID-19 has left the global economy reeling. There are almost no sectors that haven’t been impacted by this health crisis. Among the sectors that have been hit hard is the metals industry. Steel trading and the metals industry have been facing an uncertain time. Industrial trade shows have been postponed, many foundries have closed down, halting production altogether, and those that have remained open are facing a significant reduction in demand. While there is no doubt that this has been a difficult time for the industry, the worst is likely over at this point, and recovery is underway.

Jeton Sadiku is a business management consultant with over 20 years of experience as a steel trader, who is currently based in London, UK. He holds a BA in Business Management from the

University of Westminster, England. When it comes to his career, Sadiku worked as a senior

steel trader at Bel & Steel Ltd. for many years. While there, he was responsible for steel sales on behalf of the Belon Group, Novosisbirsk, as well as the introduction of new customers and a supply base to the company. Starting in 2001, he worked as the global head of trading and acted as a board member for the Core Group of Companies. He was in charge of trading steel globally, with volumes of two million tonnes per year and annual sales of $800 million USD. Throughout his career, Sadiku has had the unique opportunity to learn the transaction of

international business through personal contact with clients, senior managers, and directors.

He shares three ways that COVID-19 has impacted steel trading and the metals industry.

Postponed Events

The first way in which steel trading and the metals industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic is through the cancellation of certain events, such as trade shows, notes Jeton Sadiku. Events all over the world, even the Summer 2020 Olympics, have either been postponed to a future date or cancelled altogether owing to the health crisis.

The main types of events important to the metals industry are trade shows and conferences, many of which have already been officially postponed, shares Jeton Sadiku. These include the annual Asiamold trade fair, the CastForge 2020 trade fair, and the Zinc Die Casting Conference. Asiamold is an international fair for tool and mold making that has been postponed indefinitely (no date has yet been set). CastForge is centered on the cast and forged parts of machining and it has been postponed until 2021. Finally, the Zinc Die Casting Conference is a multi-day event showcasing the latest research, developments, and innovations in zinc die casting alloys and process technologies. It has also been postponed until 2021.

Jeton Sadiku on Foundries Temporarily Closing

Many foundries around the world have closed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, which has deeply affected the metals industry. Across all sectors, plants and factories have closed, whether someone who works there was found to have the virus, or whether it was done as a precautionary measure. For example, Voestalpine AG closed nine of its plants that were in China back in early February.

Jeton Sadiku asserts that it is difficult to know the full extent of the economic impact on the metals industry until foundries begin to operate as usual again. However, even those foundries that have remained open during the crisis are struggling. Due to many automotive companies shutting down during this time, the demand for cast components, which are created at foundries, has been significantly reduced. The small and medium-sized foundries have been hit particularly hard by this. In order to tackle this issue, some foundries have turned to temporarily produce metal products that will help with the crisis. Druckguss Service Deutschland is one example of this, where they have switched gears to focus on manufacturing disinfectant stands made out of aluminum. These stands can be installed in a number of places in need, such as in washrooms, entrance areas, and receptions.

China’s Recovery

Jeton Sadiku claims that China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will have a positive impact on steel trading and the metals industry. This is because China is the biggest driver of steel industry demand in the entire world. As this is the country where COVID-19 originated, it is also one of the countries that have been able to reopen the earliest, having already battled what will hopefully be the worst of the crisis. While things are not yet business as usual, China’s economy is slowly restarting and is expected to be at a more normal level by June. Already in China, shipbuilding is back to 90% production levels, the automotive industry is up to 30% production levels, and state-mandated infrastructure projects have resumed to their pre-crisis level of activity. All of these actions will certainly drive the demand for steel in the very near future.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes