Because most industries are seeing significant cost increases in 2021, many customers want to know the purchasing costs in 2022, especially for fasteners. Although fasteners typically represent only a small portion of the total cost of a product or project, fasteners are subject to price fluctuations, so those purchasing them should keep this in mind.

The cost of fasteners in 2022 will be determined by several factors: how the  Covid and its effects will affect production levels, raw material costs, transportation and delivery costs, and overall domestic and worldwide demands for fasteners.

Globally, raw material costs will remain high through 2022. Factories slow down or stop altogether after the outbreak; fear of a global recession. Such fears are unfounded; demand has not disappeared but rather shifted from sectors such as air travel to consumer goods and automobiles. Demand will continue to drive cost growth as the commodity industry struggles to replenish the supply.

The expected production of fasteners will pick up in the first half of 2022, but we know that the impact of the Covid will cause production and capacity to stagnate. Another factor that may affect production inputs is that there may be some slight temporary changes in the pattern of fastener production origins in China due to the 2022 Winter Olympics. As an important global fastener production base, we in China will make some capacity adjustments to respond to the market needs of large projects and fastener buyers at home and abroad.

Since the outbreak, the price of international sea containers had soared to three or four times what it was before the Covid occurred, or even higher. Overseas shipping prices will also affect fastener export prices as global demand continues to exceed available capacity.

Typically, containers have a peak cargo season between July and October. Still, this year they will increase and then remain high, causing available container capacity to be depleted, according to ocean carrier data. Prices for international shipping had already begun to rise with even longer delays at Yantian port, China’s busiest container port when the Covid outbreak occurred. Efforts to supply vacant warehouses may keep demand up beyond the peak season.

Highways, bridges, pipelines, power lines and railroad projects require large amounts of steel, aluminium and copper. Already $550 billion has been spent on these projects, and the U.S. federal government has allocated $550 billion to increase demand for the metals. Other construction materials, such as cement and lumber, are also available for construction projects under this bill. Almost all of these projects will use fasteners, and combined with the recovery in manufacturing; fastener demand will be high in the new year.

While we don’t know exactly how much fastener prices will rise, we’re pretty sure they won’t be falling any time soon. If you are currently planning to purchase fasteners in 2022, please get in touch with Prince Fastener today to learn how your company can win more opportunities to get fasteners at competitive prices in the new year.

In early May, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp announced the data for the second fiscal quarter (January-March) of 2022, with sales of 10.6 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 24%, originally expected to be 9.61 billion euros. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were 802 million euros (about 5.76 billion yuan), compared with the original expectation of 569 million euros.

This fiscal year is expected to make a profit of 2 billion euros (about 14.4 billion yuan), which is not a little bit higher than the previously expected 1.5-1.8 billion euros. Compared with the previous years, which were all losses, ThyssenKrupp has seen the glory of the past thanks to the soaring steel prices and the adjustment of the industrial structure in the past two years. It even makes sense to sell the Thyssen elevator.

In previous years, 70% of Ukrainian steel production was exported, and a large part was exported to Europe, where the famous Ethel Mittal company has its own iron ore and steel plants. In 2021, one-third of EU steel imports will come from Russia and Ukraine, with Russia 3.7 million tons and Ukraine 2.5 million tons, highly dependent on ports along the Black Sea.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has restricted Ukrainian steel production now, and unaffected steel mills cannot produce products. Russian steel exports have been sanctioned by Europe. Although some Ukrainian companies have increased their iron ore exports to Europe, it is a drop in the bucket for alleviating European steel tensions. , the price will naturally rise.

Steel is an energy-intensive industry, and now the price of natural gas and coal is soaring, raising costs. Of course, the above reasons can improve the operating income of iron and steel enterprises. At the end of March, the European rebar price rose to EUR 1,140/t, a 150% increase from the end of 2019; the price of hot-rolled coil also hit a new historical record of EUR 1,400/t.

ThyssenKrupp can be said to be the most advanced technology in the world’s steel industry, improving the efficiency of coal combustion, increasing the use of hydrogen in the smelting process, and improving photovoltaic power generation.

To this end, it has established a new energy company, Wood Chlorine, to study the production of hydrogen from water using photovoltaic power generation. The application of new energy and new technologies has brought dividends to ThyssenKrupp, and profits have been greatly improved.

Of course, these steel products are produced at the terminal to bear the cost, and ultimately consumers need to pay.