CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING
NEWS VOLUME 4i, NUMBER 22
The Chemical World This Week
JUNE 3,
1963
Ferroalloy Imports Threaten U.S. Producers Manufacturing Chemists' Association calls for import quotas on manganese and chromium ferroalloys Imports of manganese and chromium ferroalloys are putting the U.S. ferroalloy industry in serious trouble. This is the crux of an application filed by the Manufacturing Chemists' Association with the Office of Emergency Planning (C&EN, May 27, page 17). MCA requested OEP to start an investigation into the effect of imports of manganese and chromium ferroalloys on national security. MCA's application was filed on behalf of 11 U.S. ferroalloy producers. The document calls for quotas on imports of manganese and chromium ferroalloys. It would limit these imports to 7.5% of the 1962 domestic consumption. Such a quota, MCA says, would roll back imports of these products to the level of the five-year average, 1956 through 1960. U.S. companies supply about 160 ferroalloy products that go into making steel, iron, nonferrous alloys, space age metals, and some basic materials for the chemical and electronic industries.
At present, manganese and chromium ferroalloys make up about 6 1 % of the total tonnage of all ferroalloy products. About 90% of all manganese produced in the U.S. is used in steel making. According to MCA's report, 14 U.S. companies produce manganese ferroalloys. Two major steel producers— U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel—make their own high-carbon ferromanganese. The two companies' captive use of ferromanganese represents 3 1 % of U.S. manganese consumption. Therefore, MCA says, the available market for ferroalloy producers is about 69% of the total manganese consumed. Imports Rise. To determine accurately the impact of manganese ferroalloy imports, imports must be compared with the available U.S. market and not total production, shipments, or consumption, MCA maintains. MCA estimates that the total manganese ferroalloy market available to U.S. producers in 1961 was about 883 million pounds as contained manganese. In
1957, the available market was 961 million pounds. Yet imports increased from 5.8% of the available market in 1957 to 23.5% in 1962. MCA points out that imports of manganese ferroalloys in 1962 were 163.0 million pounds greater than in 1957, while the available market shrunk by 31.5 million pounds. As for chromium alloys, MCA considers the Bureau of Mines' consumption figures as representative of the available market since no captive chromium alloys are produced. From 1959 to 1962, U.S. consumption of chromium as chromium ferroalloys has ranged between 301 million and 337 million pounds. MCA estimates 330 million pounds were consumed in 1962, of which 15.3% was imported. Chromium produced in the U.S. for U.S. consumption decreased from about 306 million pounds in 1959 to 280 million pounds in 1962. During this same period, imports increased by about 29 million pounds. Imports
U.S. Imports of Chromium and Manganese Ferroalloys Reached New Highs Last Year Chromium Imports Had 15.4% of U.S. Market U.S. Use of Chromium Ferroalloys Imports housands of pounds of chromium)
1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962
291,950 234,500 337,900 301,400 323,900 330,900
22,075 21,740 21,450 10,285 16,965 50,795
Manganese Imports Had 23.5% of U.S. Market Imports as % of U.S.
U.S. Merchant Imports for Use of U.S. Merchant Manganese Ferroalloys Use (in thousands of pounds of manganese)
Use
7.6 7.6 9.3 9.3 6.4 6.4 3.4 3.4 5.2 5.2 15.4 15.4
1957 1957 1958 1958 1959 1959 1960 1960 1961 1961 1962 1962
961,000 713,100 842,700 861,600 882,900 929,500
55,700 94,700 145,164 118,885 185,929 218,700
Imports as % of U.S. Merchant Use
5.8 13.3 17.2 13.8 21.1 23.5
Sources: Bureau of Mines, Departments of Commerce and Interior, and Union Carbide Metals Co. JUNE
3,
1963
C&EN
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of low-carbon ferrochrome accounted for 2 6 . 1 % of the U.S. market last year and imports of chromium metal accounted for 3 5 % of the U.S. market. Three Causes. MCA attributes the present ferroalloy import problem to three principal causes—U.S. government stockpiling, capacity build-up abroad, and the slowdown in Europe's growth rate. U.S. government purchases of ferroalloys during 1950 to 1961 for the U.S. stockpile caused foreign producers to increase their capacity. While government stockpiling ended in 1962, imports for commercial uses have risen. In 1960, for example, 87 million pounds of manganese products (as contained manganese) were imported for government use. This dropped to 11 million pounds in 1962. But, imports for commercial uses increased from 119 million pounds in 1960 to 219 million pounds in 1962. The build-up in foreign capacity is a second reason for the surge in imports. Although ferroalloy plants were built to supply the countries' future needs, the capacity is now being used to produce material for export. Finally, MCA points to the slowing growth rate of ECM. That excess capacity has been turned to production for the export market. Prices Are Falling. While foreign producers are supplying a larger and larger portion of the U.S. market, the price of ferroalloys is dropping. Lower labor, transportation, and raw7 materials costs in foreign countries have enabled foreign producers to offer their products at prices considerably below those prevailing in the domestic market, MCA claims. "There are strong indications that foreign manganese and chromium ferroalloys are being offered at prices below their actual cost or at prices below their domestic selling prices by such countries as Yugoslavia, India, France, and Japan," MCA says. MCA says imports and these "unprofitable" price levels have already caused a reduction in domestic ferroalloy capacity. Domestic producers now operate at 50 to 60% of capacity. During the past five years, the number of electric furnaces in the industry declined by 15%. Manpower losses from 1960 to 1961 in the manganese ferroalloy industry amounted to about 17%. MCA estimates similar manpower losses in the chromium ferroalloy segment of the industry. Closing Plants. The 11 companies 34
C&EN
JUNE
3,
1963
participating in MCA's petition all agree that the import situation is serious. Union Carbide Metals, for example, will start phasing out ferroalloy production at Niagara Falls, N.Y., early next year. It has cut its research and development budget for ferroalloys and is cutting its promotion costs. In June 1962, Chromium Mining & Smelting Corp. closed its Spokane, Wash., ferroalloy plant. Vanadium Corp. says it has started cost reduction moves to counteract the slump in ferroalloy prices and the lower volume of sales expected in 1963.
Procter & Gamble Will Sell Soft Detergent by End-1965 Procter & Gamble is on record that it will replace alkyl benzene sulfonate in its household detergents with material which is more biodegradable by the end of 1965. The decision was given in the form of letters to three municipalites faced with serious pollution problems. It supports a recent claim of the Soap and Detergent Association that softer detergents will be available for mass distribution by Dec. 31, 1965 (C&EN, May 20, page 31). Indications are that other soapers, such as Colgate and Lever Bros., as well as detergent alkylate producers are also shooting for this date to make biodegradable detergents commercially available. Monsanto says that "the end of 1965 date is a reasonable one and we will be participating in production at that time." A spokesman for California Chemical's Oronite Division wouldn't comment when asked if the company plans to produce a new intermediate to replace the present forms of alkyl benzene sulfonate. He would say only that detergent intermediates are a "major area" of California Chemical's business and "you can be sure we are active in this area." P&G's action came in response to a request from the cities of Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Livermore, Calif. They had asked P&G to advise them of its position with regard to the question of detergents in water supplies. Replace Current ABS. The query to P&G stemmed from action taken earlier this year by the California Water Pollution Control Board. On Feb. 21, the board put a limit of 1.0 mg. of ABS per liter on waters discharged into Alameda Creek or its
tributaries. Spot checks of the area had shown ABS concentration above 1.0 mg. per liter and several instances of serious foaming. In its response to the query, P&G pointed out it had made the decision "some six years ago to initiate an R&D program aimed at finding a replacement for ABS which would degrade more readily in treatment plants and thus would not be a contributor to the occasional foaming which occurs in streams." "The program is paying off," says the company, "and we expect to be in full-scale production with replacement material by the end of 1965. It is our intention to replace the present ABS in all our products where it is currently being used." P&G stresses that it has initiated this program and is making this change entirely on a voluntary basis. Therefore, it says, "legislation to force such a change is entirely unnecessary." Mostly in Study. So far this year, six state legislatures have become involved with detergent bills. Most recent one is Florida. It has withdrawn a bill patterned after the Dade County ordinance. Dade County's ordinance makes the sale of products containing ABS illegal after Jan. 1, 1965 (C&EN, May 13, page 17). After withdrawing the bill, Florida referred the proposal to a select committee for further study. Reason for this change of mind, according to the Soap and Detergent Association, was the Florida realization that the Dade County ordinance would also apply to straight-chain ABS materials. Bills before the Wisconsin legislature are still pending. However, a state committee set up last year to examine the detergent problem has recently gone on record against the proposed legislation. Maryland passed a joint resolution earlier this year requesting the Governor to appoint a committee to study its problems. To date, the committee hasn't been appointed. In May, California held a public hearing on its bill to ban nonbiodegradable syndets. Amendments have been adopted which convert the bill to a study of the situation. Nebraska's two bills were reported unfavorably by committee. Recently, the state passed a resolution for a study of all aspects of the pollution problem. The group which will undertake the comprehensive study has been asked to report back to the next legislative session.
