The global scramble for raw materials is changing the shape of the world's steel industry: Iron-ore miners are becoming steelmakers, and steelmakers are becoming ore miners.
In an effort to gain independence from the mining giants that control the world's iron ore and have raised prices more than 80% this year alone, a growing number of steelmakers are shopping for their own iron-ore mines. Meanwhile, several ore miners are seeking to cash in more directly on the world's growing demand for steel.
'The main difference between now and, say, 10 years ago is that there is no excess capacity in the market,' says John Anton, a steel economist for Global Insight, an economic consulting company based in Waltham, Mass. 'For one company to get what it needs, it now has to outbid another company.'
The trend toward controlling production from the raw materials to finished product, known as vertical integration, harks back to the way the steel industry operated decades ago, when it was common for steelmakers to own their own mines. In the U.S., the practice fell by the wayside in the face of competition from foreign steelmakers. The thinking was that the best way to fend off competition from abroad was to focus on steelmaking, which historically was more profitable than mining iron ore.
The swing back toward vertical integration is most evident in Brazil, which has vast reserves of iron ore that remain either untapped or up for grabs. 'Brazil is the strategic place for the steel industry,' says Lakshmi Mittal, the chief executive of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker by production. 'It has the raw materials. It has the market. It has the growth.'
In the past month, steelmakers and miners have announced major investments in Brazil's fast-growing economy. ArcelorMittal said it would pay $810 million for the Brazilian iron-ore assets of Oslo-listed London Mining PLC and agreed to develop a port facility to ship iron ore, while a consortium of Japanese steelmakers joined the bidding fray for a collection of Brazilian mines owned by Cia. Siderurgica Nacional. Also interested in those CSN mines are steelmakers from China, India and Russia.
Meanwhile, Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest iron-ore miner by volume, said last month that it planned to build a $5 billion steel complex. The mill, to be completed by 2013, would have about 2.5 million tons of capacity, with most of the output targeted for domestic use. Several other smaller iron-ore producers have indicated they also want to move into steel production.
Like many miners, Vale is flush with cash from historically high iron-ore prices and has been looking for new ways to deploy this capital. Vale has said it also wants to buy other mining operations as it moves to diversify away from iron ore. But even with $14 billion earmarked for that purpose, the company hasn't had success in buying other mining operations. For instance, Vale's proposed deal to buy smaller metals miner Xstrata PLC fell through this year over price negotiations.
In addition to the steel complex, Vale announced last month that it was building an aluminum plant in Brazil so it could feed that new plant with the bauxite from its mines. It is also investing in joint ventures with steelmakers. In April, the miner signed a memorandum of understanding with JFE Steel Corp., a large Japanese steelmaker, and Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., a South Korean-based mill, to construct a steel-slab plant in Brazil.
A Vale spokesman said that the company's mission is to enter into joint ventures with steelmakers to build in Brazil and increase the production of steel there. Those joint ventures would naturally purchase their iron-ore needs from Vale.
Steelmakers have focused on Brazil in part because Australia's iron-ore reserves are controlled by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, meaning there are almost no opportunities for a newcomer to gain a foothold in the market. Moreover, Australia's logistics and transportation system is nearly at capacity and labor costs are higher.
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世界各国对原材料的争夺正在改变全球钢铁行业的格局：铁矿石供应商正变成钢铁生产商，而钢铁生产商也在向铁矿石供应商靠拢。
眼下采矿业巨头控制着全球的铁矿石供应，仅今年就将铁矿石价格上调了逾80%。为了摆脱对铁矿石供应商的依赖，越来越多的钢铁生产商开始寻找自己的铁矿石资源。与此同时，一些铁矿石供应商也开始采取行动，以便更直接地从全球对钢铁不断增长的需求中淘金。
马萨诸塞州经济咨询公司Global Insight的钢铁经济学家约翰&#149;安顿(John Anton)说，现在和10年前的主要区别是，市场没有多余的产能。现在，如果一家公司想得到它所需要的，就必须出比其他公司更高的价钱。
这种控制从原材料到终端产品的各环节产出的趋势也被称为行业的纵向整合。几十年前的钢铁行业就是这样运营的，当时，钢铁生产商拥有自己的铁矿石矿是很常见的事情。在美国，来自海外钢铁生产商的竞争压力最终迫使企业放弃了这种运营模式。那时企业认为，集中力量进行钢铁生产是抵御海外竞争的最佳出路，因为从历史情况来看，钢铁生产比采矿利润更加丰厚。
钢铁行业重新纵向整合的趋势在巴西最为明显，那里有大量尚未发掘或者很容易开采的铁矿石储量。全球产量最高的钢铁生产商安赛乐米塔尔(ArcelorMittal)的首席执行长拉克什米&#149;米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)说，巴西是钢铁行业的战略要地。那里有原材料，有市场，还有经济增长。
过去一个月中，钢铁生产商和采矿企业都表示将在巴西快速发展的经济中投下重金。安赛乐米塔尔宣布，将向London Mining PLC旗下的巴西铁矿石资产投入8.10亿美元，并同意开发建设一处港口设施来运输铁矿石。此外，一个日本钢铁企业财团参与竞购Cia. Siderurgica Nacional拥有的多个巴西矿点。来自中国&#12289;俄罗斯和印度的钢铁生产商也对这几个矿点表示出了兴趣。
与此同时，巴西的淡水河谷公司(Companhia Vale Do Rio Doce)上月表示，计划修建一座耗资50亿美元的钢铁厂。淡水河谷公司是全球产量最大的铁矿石供应商。这座年产能250万吨的工厂将在2013年竣工，其大多数产量将用来满足国内市场的需求。其他几个较小的铁矿石供应商也表示，想涉足钢铁生产领域。
得益于铁矿石价格长时间处于高位，淡水河谷公司和很多矿业公司一样坐拥大量现金，而且一直在寻找运用这些资本的新途径。淡水河谷还表示，由于计划实现业务多元化，它希望收购其他矿业业务。然而，尽管该公司拿出140亿美元资金来实现这个目标，但它在收购其他矿业业务上还没有取得过成功。比如，淡水河谷曾提议收购规模较小的金属矿业公司Xstrata PLC，但该交易最终因价格问题而于今年破裂。
除了修建钢铁生产厂之外，淡水河谷上个月还宣布正在巴西修建一家铝厂，这样它就可以把矿点开采出的铝土矿供应给新工厂。同时，该公司还和其他钢铁生产商设立了合资企业。今年4月，淡水河谷和日本大型钢铁生产商JFE Steel Corp.以及韩国的Dongkuk Steel Mill Co.签订了谅解备忘录，在巴西修建一家钢板生产厂。
淡水河谷一位发言人表示，公司的任务是和钢铁生产商设立合资企业，在巴西修建钢铁厂，并提高巴西国内的钢铁产量。而且，这些合资企业自然会从淡水河谷购买铁矿石来满足自身需求。
钢铁生产商把主要精力放在巴西的还有一部分原因在于，澳大利亚的铁矿石储备控制在力拓(Rio Tinto)和必和必拓(BHP Billiton)的手中，这意味着其他期望进入澳大利亚市场的公司基本没有立足的机会。此外，澳大利亚的物流和运输系统基本接近满负荷运转，而且人力成本更高。
