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production facilities with a ques- tionable economic future.
Still, despite the remarkable boom in the US, globalization into markets with increased demand remains one of the key answers. The Middle East and locations with major oil and gas explora- tion as well as auto production, mechanical engineering and con- struction industries are to be con- sidered. Besides this, shale gas exploration, deep-sea offshore exploration and oil sand explora- tion remain major challenges to our industry.
Price competition from low-cost countries demands further spe- cialization in high-tech products, particularly in higher-cost coun- tries. Producers seem to have evaluated their market approach and decided to specialize and serve commodities or high-tech products even if they only repre- sent niches, depending on their capabilities. Some countries/ regions have also installed trade barriers to control imports from other countries.
Finally, every producer will have to make permanent improvements to increase productivity and reduce production costs. Technology sup- pliers may find interesting busi- ness opportunities in this field.
Fig.16: World Steel Pipe Production in Ttons (welded ≥ 406 mm OD) Source: ITATube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
Fig.17: World steel pipe production in Ttons (welded ≥ 406 mm OD) Source: ITATube Journal/Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahlrohre e.V.
Fig.18: Currency exchange rates vs euro as of January 27, 2019 Source: Finance.net
Market information
VOSCO Management Consultancy
Dr. Gunther Voswinckel
Scharnhorststrasse 45 41063 Mönchengladbach Germany
Tel.: +49 2161 309 255 drgunthervoswinckel@vosco.net
Fig.19: Currency exchange rates vs euro as of January 27, 2019 Source: Finance.net
ITAtube Journal No1/February 2019
EUR/US$ Chart – 3 Years EUR/CYN Chart – 3 Years
EUR/RUB Chart – 3 Years EUR/SAR Chart – 3 Years
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