CUT AT CORUS PACKAGING HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF EUROPEAN TIN PLATE PRODUCERS

摘要

Corus's decision last week that it would cut capacity at its Corns Packaging Plus (CPP) plant at Troste in Wales is a symptom of an industry increasingly under pressure from over-capacity, soaring raw materials costs and competition from aluminium, industry sources told MB. A Corus spokeswoman told MB the company plans to cut production by 120,000 tpy from January, blaming raw materials costs and rising capacity in Europe, and confirmed the company had paused production in the first quarter this year for similar reasons. "This business has been underperforming and the decision was taken to try and address the demand/supply balance in Europe as a whole," the spokeswoman told MB. "In addition to capacity, there has also been pressure from high raw material costs." ArcelorMittal is thought to be considering taking similar measures at its European works, while llva, which is owned by Italy's Riva Group, has extended its scheduled summer maintenance shutdown to last until the end of the third quarter, according to unconfirmed reports.