b'November 23 - december 13, 2020breakbulk quarterly5(OUTLOOKcontinueding to U.S. Commerce Depart-from page 2) ment figures.recoveryhasbeenitstradeIncreasesinautomanu-spatwithAustralia,whichfacturingduringthethird suppliesthecountrywithquarteralsoreboundedposi-much of its iron ore and coal.tivelyforsteel.Automanu-In April, Australias govern- facturing attained production ment called for an investiga- levels of either close to or, in tion of China over its allegedsomecases,morethan,pre-roleinspreadingthecoro- COVID levels, said Millett.navirus.Inreaction,ChinaThepandemic,andthe instituted broad trade limita- stay-at-homelifestyleithas tions,includingrestrictionsencouraged,alsoaccelerated onimportsofAustralianthe trend toward e-commerce coking coal. There have beenand with that, a boom in the credible reports of Australianbuilding of warehouses, distri-coal being held up in ports. bution centers, and fulfillment Australias iron ore indus- centers. The Steel Joist Insti-tryalsofrettedabouttradetutereportedthatSeptember sanctions,untilChinasteel- 2020 bookings were the third-makerSinosteelannouncedhighestinhistory,postinga earlier this month that it agreed10% year-over-year increase.topurchasehalfthefutureYoukeepseeingthat outputofFenixResourcese-commerceisincreasing, new Iron Ridge mine in West- said Millet, The distribution ern Australia, suggesting thatchannelisgoingtoremain iron-oreimportlimitationsstrong. Amazon is going to be are not in the offing. Austra- (OUTLOOKcontinued on lian iron-ore exports to Chinapage 7)soaredthisyearamidthat countrysinfrastructureand property boom.toChina has also committedWE KNOWambitiouscarbon-neutral-ity goals, which, for the steel industrywillinvolvesourc-ing high-grade, low-impurity ores,whichAustraliaoffers inabundance.Chinacon-tinuestoseeklowersteelPEOPLEindustryemissionswhile optimizingitsproduction efficiencies,saidCameron McCall, president of Macar-thurMinerals,an Australian supplierofores,asituation whichaccountsforthepre-mium prices that high-grade iron ore is fetching in global markets.(Tradeinmetals, andsteelinparticular,will benefit from long-term envi-ronmental concerns and poli-cies. (See side bar on page 4.)us s teelr eboundb uoyedbyC onstruCtionIn the U.S., Steel Dynam-ics,aproducerbasedinFort Wayne, Indiana, reported third-quarter 2020 revenues that were 11%higherthanthesecond quarter,reflectingtheoverall economicrebound,although the companys quarterly oper-ating income was 32% lower thanprior-yearresults.Steel Dynamicsthird-quartersteel shipments were 7% higher than the second quarter, on par with the companys 2019 third-quar-ter volumes. TheconstructionsectorMexicomadeeasy.remainsresilientandrelated steel demand has been steady, saidMarkMillett,Steel Dynamics president and chief executiveofficer.Residen-tial construction has also been surprisingly strong, generating highdemandforHVACand appliance products. Volumes in Steel Dynam-icsstructuraldivisionwere robust,Millettadded,and steelfabricationshipments setrecordsduringthethird quarter. U.S. residential con- 1000 Foust Rd., Brownsville, TX 78521(956) 831-45921-800-378-5395structionspendingrosebyportofbrownsville.com2.7%inSeptember,accord-'