London, 4 August (Argus) —
France
French bitumen additives manufacturer Ceca has announced a 5-10pc hike in the sales price of its bitumen additives worldwide from 1 September, blaming soaring material and energy costs.
“We can no longer continue to absorb raw material and energy costs,” Ceca said. “Passing on the price hikes we have been experiencing is a responsible approach to both our business and our customers in terms of being able to continue supplying the market with innovative additives,” head of bitumen additives Guillaume Legouis said.
Ceca bills itself as the number one European supplier of adhesion promoters, emulsifiers and process aids creating bitumen-aggregate bonds. Among the firm's product range are additives that lower the temperature of asphalt spreading applications by around 50°C.
Germany
Bitumen prices in Germany and central Eastern Europe look set to rise as refinery production is lagging rising demand. This comes as a number of regional refineries have cut bitumen production in favour of higher yielding products.
A 3pc rise in bitumen output at OMV's Schwechat plant in Austria since the beginning of the year is not enough to offset falling output elsewhere, a trader said. At least three German refiners have either substantially cut or stopped bitumen production in July until the first week of August.
Poland's Lotus refiner, a major exporter to Germany, will cut production in August, according to a bitumen trader based in Austria. Output at Hungary's Mol looks set to be unchanged in August compared with July. Italy's three bitumen producing refiners are meeting domestic demand, but have no spare export capacity, according to a market participant. Prices in Germany look set to rise to between €380/t ($590/t) and €430/t ($670/t) in August.
Netherlands
Sharp price increases are expected to continue into August with sellers looking for a minimum refinery netback of €425/t ($660/t), up by €40/t ($62/t) from July. Despite the €35/t ($54/t) rise from June to July sellers report making substantial losses during July that they hope to recoup during August. But demand is said to be slow as the July holiday season for contractors persists for the first two weeks of August.
Rising fuel oil margins over the last month have begun to boost the appeal of running heavier crude grades, potentially increasing bitumen supplies. Although some refiners may prefer to favour fuel oil production over bitumen, fuel oil margins remain negative.
Poland
The Polish highway between Poznan and Nowy Tomysl is to be renovated only four years after its original construction, under a government initiative to improve the condition of roads and motorways by 2012. Renovations will begin in the third quarter of 2008 to repair the cracked surfaces and damage caused by greater than expected levels of van traffic.
UK
Inland deliveries of bitumen fell by nearly 2.5pc in 2007 to 1.57mn t, according to the latest figures from the UK government. Bitumen consumption has been in sharp decline since 2005, when inland deliveries totalled 1.9mn t. Stocks of bitumen were also down sharply at the end of 2007, at just 166,000t compared with 193,000t at the end of 2006. End-of-year bitumen stocks were above 200,000t between 2003 and 2005.
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