Latest news with #autoIndustry
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Job fears as Lotus plots UK closure of sports car plant
Lotus is reportedly planning to end production of its sports cars in the UK, putting 1,300 jobs at its Norfolk plant at risk. In another bruising setback for Britain's auto industry, the group is considering moving the manufacturing of its Emira model from its factory in Hethel to the US. The company, which is owned by Chinese car-maker Geely, could permanently stop production at the site as soon as next year, according to the Financial Times. Meanwhile, figures published yesterday showed UK car production last month slumped to its lowest level since 1949. Britain's high-end car-makers have been battered by Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on the industry – though a trade deal reducing this to 10 per cent is expected to come into force on Monday. No final decision has been made over the future of the Hethel plant, which was opened in 1966 and received a £100m upgrade in 2022. Workers at the site have not been told anything about a potential closure. A Lotus spokesman said: 'This is a rumour. We don't comment on speculation.' The car-maker paused its production in mid-May in order to manage its stock levels due to Trump's tariffs. But it is expected to begin making cars again in Norfolk within four weeks. British car engineer Colin Chapman founded Lotus in 1948, and it was ultimately taken over in 2017 by Geely – owned by the billionaire Li Shufu. The closure will be another industry setback after Vauxhall owner Stellantis closed its Luton van factory, employing 1,100 workers, earlier this year. Major car-makers such as Honda – which shut its plant in Swindon in 2021 after 36 years of production – have exited the UK. Ford also closed its Bridgend engine plant in September 2020, and a Southampton van plant earlier in July 2013. Car production declined by 31.5 per cent last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover have had to halt shipments to the US following Trump's tariffs. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said 2025 had 'proved to be an incredibly challenging year for UK automotive production'.
The Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
Many challenges emerge in agriculture after promising start to year
This has been a horrific month for the Eastern Cape. The devastating impact of the recent floods on infrastructure, homes and human loss will continue to weigh on the province and the affected families. Natural disasters also occur at a time when various industries in the Eastern Cape face multiple pressures. For example, the auto industry faces a challenge of imports from China, among other challenges. The farming industry faces animal diseases, with foot-and-mouth disease being the most persistent in the province's dairy industry. However, foot-and-mouth disease is now a challenge nationwide. We are seeing the pressures across the livestock industry. I think if you were to ask any cattle farmer in SA, 'How has the year been?' They will likely tell you that this has been a financially challenging year for the industry. But at the start, the outlook looked promising. We thought the industry would continue its recovery from last year, benefiting from improvements in grazing veld and relatively lower feed prices. This was after the better summer rains improved agricultural conditions across the country. The export markets also opened up in the second half of 2024, following temporary closures in the previous year due to the industry's impact from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in most provinces. For example, in 2024, SA's cumulative beef exports increased by 30% from 2023, reaching 38,657 tonnes. About 57% of this was fresh beef and 43% was frozen beef. The key markets include China, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Angola, Mozambique, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius, among other countries. However, the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on a few farms in various regions of SA presented additional challenges, leading to temporary closures of export markets again in an industry that was still on its recovery path. The financial pressures on farmers are immense, and we will have clarity about the scale in the coming months. What has been encouraging is the collaboration between the department of agriculture and organised agriculture in containing the disease and facilitating vaccination on the affected farms. We can expect the vaccination process to gain momentum in the last week of June. However, the key to the long-term success of the industry lies in improving animal health, developing vaccines domestically and implementing better surveillance, among other interventions. Efforts on this vital issue should continue through the collaboration of various stakeholders, including the government, the private sector and organised agriculture. SA must leverage existing private sector expertise as the process to improve state-owned facilities, such as the Onderstepoort Biological Products, a state-owned vaccine manufacturer, is under way. We no longer need just one centre of manufacturing, but rather multiple centres where capabilities exist. This intervention is key not only for preserving the country's share of the industry but also for creating room for new entrant farmers. It is hard to talk about the integration of black farmers into commercial value chains when the risks of disease remain high and can be financially devastating to businesses. The recent statements by agriculture minister John Steenhuisen regarding the department's commitment to strengthening animal and plant health are encouraging. Indeed, in the near term, the focus is on vaccination; however, beyond that process, we must adopt a careful approach to reviving domestic vaccine manufacturing capabilities and involve the private sector. Thereafter, also nudge the department of public works and infrastructure to assist with fencing to ensure the strict control of animal movement in the country. In the former homelands regions of SA, the traditional leaders have an essential role to play in managing the movement of livestock. The task cannot be left solely to the government. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that SA's animal health is a priority. The livestock industry is an anchor of the South African farming economy. The livestock and poultry industries account for nearly half of our agricultural fortunes, with significant contributions by black farmers as part of the inclusive growth agenda. As I have noted in the past, while we now struggle with foot-and-mouth disease, what we have learnt from recent experience is that this may not be the last outbreak, and there may be future outbreaks of various diseases in other value chains. Therefore, SA, more than ever, should increase its investment in animal health by allocating better resources to infrastructure and human capital. For the Eastern Cape, the cattle industry is key and also holds potential for the province's economic recovery, along with other agricultural activities. • Wandile Sihlobo is the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA. The Herald
Bloomberg
18-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa, US to Resume Trade Talks as Tariff Deadline Looms
South Africa will resume trade talks with the Trump administration on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit next week, with less than a month to go before Washington's reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect. The negotiating teams will aim to thrash out the details of South Africa's proposed framework agreement, which includes ramping up liquid natural gas imports, a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals and duty-free US quotas for the auto and steel industries. Officials first presented the measures to the Trump administration when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Washington on May 21.
The Independent
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump finally signed a UK-US trade deal - but Starmer still faces steel tariffs race
President Trump brandished his trade deal with the UK at the G7 meeting in Canada, announcing he had finally signed it after weeks of wrangling - then promptly dropped it on the ground. Keir Starmer was quick to respond to the US president's clumsiness, bending down to pick up the precious agreement, set to protect auto industry jobs in Britain. The whole thing could be seen as a metaphor for how the Republican sees these kinds of deals - and continues to treat them. Because there is a sting in the tail to what the two men signed in Alberta. Whopping tariffs of 25 per cent remain on British steel - one of the industries that can least afford them. And the prime minister now faces a race against time to try to get rid of them, before they cripple an already beleaguered industry. The US president sent shockwaves through the global economy when he announced his steel tariffs – and then, a few weeks ago, plans to double them. The UK-US trade deal unveiled with much fanfare in April should have exempted Britain from steel tariffs altogether – but there was one problem, it had yet to be implemented. And it still has not. Trump's signature means the deal can now go through parliaments on either side of the Atlantic, but that process will still take days. It was not supposed to be like this. When it was first unveiled Trump hailed the trade agreement with the UK as a 'great deal for both countries', while the prime minister said the move would 'boost British businesses and save thousands of British jobs' and deliver on his promises to protect carmakers and, crucially, save the UK's steel industry. Under its terms, levies on steel and aluminium were to be reduced to zero. However, a general 10 per cent tariff for other goods would remain and Britain agreed to scrap its tariff on ethanol coming into the UK from the US. At the time the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said the UK had been 'shafted' as she contrasted the amount UK business would have to pay with their costs before Trump came to power. Earlier this year, MPs were forced to hold a Saturday sitting to approve emergency plans to save British Steel 's Scunthorpe blast furnaces by taking control away from its Chinese owners. Although the new law stopped short of nationalisation, the government conceded it was "likely" British Steel would have to be taken into public ownership as Sir Keir warned the UK's economic and national security was "on the line". At the time, he said his government was 'turning the page on a decade of decline, where our manufacturing heartlands were hollowed out by the previous government. Our industry is the pride of our history – and I want it to be our future too." The British steel industry described it as a 'body blow' to wake up a few weeks ago and discover that Trump had announced overnight plans to universally double steel tariffs, from 25 to 50 per cent. That appears to have fallen again, to 25 per cent, still an astronomical sum. The calculation at the G7 has been to use a meeting with the president to get most of the way there on the trade deal. To give industries like the car sector the certainty they, and their workers, badly need. And sort out the rest later. But the beleaguered British steel industry will be hoping they get the same kind of certainty very soon indeed.
News.com.au
13-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Monsters of Rock: How far will Chinese steel production fall this year?
Indicators in China's steel market continue to look bearish But prices could remain propped above US$90/t Argonaut initiates on swag bag of rare earths stocks It's a germane question for Aussie investors and tax collectors. How far China's can steel sector continue at current levels with the mouldy stench of a downturned property market? There's pressure also in other sectors that have been picking up the slack. That's not to say steel production is about to fall off a cliff. But calls from quasi-independent state linked bodies like the China Iron and Steel Association suggest moves could be afoot to start clamping down on lossmaking steel and auto supply. Echoing statements from similar bodies in the vehicle sector, where competition has stirred a price war that has left most carmakers losing money, the CISA has called on steel and carmakers to resist "neijuan". It's a fun term since, according to MySteel, it's been newly-coined in the always lyrical Communist Chinese dictionary, defined as "describing hyper-competition and the relentless rat race". Relentless cost-cutting has seen carmakers request markdowns of up to 10% on their steel prices, CISA warns, with auto profit margins shrinking from 7.3% to just 3.8% from 2018-2024. The CISA forecasts steel production will decline 4% this year in China, the world's largest steel producer churning out around 1Btpa, and therefore the largest customer by the length of the straight for Aussie iron ore. That would be the largest decline in any calendar year since at least 1990, according to analysis this week from Commbank's mining expert Vivek Dhar. Last year Chinese steel output hit a five-year low after a 1.7% dive, but still crossed 1Bt for the fifth straight season at 1.005Bt. MySteel reports showed late May crude steel production was down 12.7% on the same period in 2024, while iron ore imports have declined 5.2% to 486.4Mt over the first five months of the year – that's despite miners in the Pilbara shipping lower grades. S&P's Platts division, the main provider of iron ore index pricing, this week announced plans to introduce 61% Fe pricing from January next year, following the launch of a similar index by Fastmarkets. That comes as new supply looms from Africa, notably the 120Mtpa Simandou project in Guinea. Upside potential Despite all that, Dhar remains confident iron ore will stay above US$90/t. "We think it will be challenging for iron ore prices to sustainably fall to $US90/t even if China's demand deteriorates given such a level would require China's steel output to contract 6â€'7%/yr," he said. "This is due to the highâ€'cost iron ore supply that would need to exit the market at $US90/t. For context, the most that China's steel output has contracted in any calendar year since at least 1990 is ~3%. "We see iron ore prices averaging $US95/t in H2 2025, with upside risks tied to the size and composition of Chinese stimulus." Amid trade uncertainty and concerns over the sustainability of the Chinese steel sector and broader economy, the big iron ore players have had a rough 2025. BHP (ASX:BHP) is down 4% YTD, Fortescue (ASX:FMG) with its volatile green energy business is off close to 17% and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has shed 9%. High grade Canadian producer Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) has been hit even harder, down a testy 29%. Brazil's Vale, on the other hand, is an outlier, gaining 7.5%, with $211m capped Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX), a small Mid West producer with growth ambitions, up 7.7%. Mid-tiers Grange Resources (ASX:GRR) and Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) are both significantly in the red, though the focus of the latter is squarely on how it uses its cash pile from the waning Koolan Island mine to charter a move into a new operation or commodity via M&A. Singapore iron ore futures are down 0.62% to US$93.95/t on Friday. Rarer than hen's teeth A major move from Perth broker Argonaut this week, initiating coverage on a swag bag of rare earths stocks. One, of course, is Lynas (ASX:LYC), the largest producer outside China via its world class Mt Weld mine near Laverton in WA. "LYC boasts a strong strategic position as being a large ex-China rare earths producer and is benefitting from current trends in critical mineral supply security and potential market bifurcation. LYC is expanding, with its NdPr capacity lifting to 10.5ktpa, which could potentially grow to 12.0ktpa with the build of the US plant," Argonaut's Jon Scholtz said. He's started the firm with a hold and $7.50 price target, a negative return of 13% – too much of the strategic angle (market bifuraction, Trump v Xi, West v China etc.) is already priced into Lynas, with the implied NdPr price in its share of US$100/kg some 80% above spot. Scholtz is more bullish on Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU), opening coverage at a $5.50 PT (50% upside) with a buy rating. The logic is that only its longstanding mineral sands business is priced in, ahead of the construction of the Federal Government supported Eneabba rare earths refinery, while a 20% holding in royalty company Deterra Royalties (ASX:DRR) continues to support ILU's dividend. "The (refinery) positions ILU has a strong strategic player and could see it become a significant rare earth producer ex-China, benefitting from current trends in critical mineral supply security and potential market bifurcation," Scholtz says. Spec buy ratings have also been dropped by George Ross on Brazilian players Meteoric Resources (ASX:MEI) and Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE). MEI, the owner of the Caldeira ionic clay rare earths project in Minas Gerais, one of a handful of projects Ross says is likely profitable at current rare earths prices, has been initiated at a 22c price target (compared to 14c today), while BRE with its Rocha da Rocha REE and bauxite project has been initiated at a $4.20 PT. It's up 6.3% this morn, while MEI was up slightly after announcing its selection in a Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) funding initiative. The ASX 300 Metals and Mining index fell 0.24% over the past week. Which ASX 300 Resources stocks have impressed and depressed? Making gains Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) (PGEs) +19.8% Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) (lithium) +14.6% Develop Global (ASX:DVP) (copper/zinc/mining services) +9.2% Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) (gold) +6.3% Eating losses ioneer (ASX:INR) (lithium) -16.7% IperionX (ASX:IPX) (titanium) -16.4% Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) (gold) -15.2% West African Resources (ASX:WAF) (gold) -7.3% Chalice Mining rose close to 20% as platinum prices surged. Check out our rundown on what's going on in this week's Ten Bagger with John Forwood. A favourite in the beaten down lithium space of Argonaut Funds Management's David Franklyn, Patriot rose on testwork showing the presence of pollucite as the host mineral of its potential high-grade caesium by-product at the Shaakichiuwaanan lithium project in Canada's James Bay region.
