b'MAY 2024NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS NEWSPAPER 23BREAKBULKSteel spikes QUARTERLY statistics,thereisBy Brenda Silva, AJOT toreach1,793Mt Along with Dugans reportedrebound year-to-date and total tonnage[million tons]. Steel demand anotheris forecast to grow by 1.2% in yearly increase in steel imports2025 to reach 1,818 Mt.that can be directly attributedDr.MartinTheuringer, toMotherNature.DuganChairmanoftheworldsteel elaborated on how and why itEconomicsCommittee,said, occurs, and the annual benefitsof the SRO after two years it creates. of negative growth and severe Inthewintermonthsmarketvolatilitysincethe specificallytheendofCOVIDcrisisin2020,we DecemberthroughMarchsee early signs of global steel weseea50%spikeindemandsettlinginagrowth imports through the Camdentrajectory in 2024 and 2025.terminals, which we call ourPerhaps the most unusual Winter Steel Program. Thefeature of the SRO is the associ-Imported steel cable stacked at South Jersey Port Corp.s terminal in Camden, NJ spikeoccurswhentheSt.ations expectations for China. Lawrence River freezes over,Historically,Chinahasbeen whichcreatesclosuresforthe driver of the steel trade both Steel product imports forge ahead in Q1 shipping in that area. As theas importer of steel producing Increased breakbulk imports evidence higher demand for steel and steel- result of the closures, we getcommoditiesandanexporter more steel imports in Camdenof steel products. But the asso-related products. that we send via truck and railciation wrote in this SRO that totheMidwest,withmanyWe expect that steel demand By Brenda Silva, AJOT products intended to supportin China in 2024 will remain the automotive industry. around the level of 2023, as real As commodity markets continually worktors that set steel apart remain its deep demandBut the spike in steel atestate investments continue to torecapturerevenuedecreasedbyshippingand domestic short supply. SJPC is just part of the overalldecline, but the corresponding delaysandinfrastructurebottlenecks,break- trend for steel and steel prod- steel demand loss will be offset bulkimportsarecurrentlyexperiencinganS teelS uPPort inS outhJ erSey ucts.TheWorldsteelAsso- bygrowthinsteeldemand increased demand compared to statistics fromAtthetwoterminalsitoperatesinciationinAprilreleaseditscomingfrominfrastructure a year ago. Among the top of the list of in- Camden, N.J., the South Jersey Port Corpo- Short Range Outlook (SRO)investmentsandmanufactur-demandbreakbulkcargoissteelandsteel- ration (SJPC) exclusively handles breakbulkfor steel demand for 2024 andingsectors.In2025wesee relatedproducts.Whilesteelimportsareand bulk imports, with 2024 Q1 import sta- 2025. The associations SROChina steel demand returning subject to the same ocean shipping costs andtistics showing an impressive increase whenforecastoutlinedthatthis(SPIKEScontinued on concerns as many other imports, the key fac- (FORGEcontinued on page 24) year demand will see a 1.7%page 28)'