Could you please introduce yourself to us?
I’m Vicky A. Mathur, currently Vice President – Global Supply Chain and Commercial at SteelAsia, the Philippines’ largest steel manufacturer.
I handle the complete raw material strategy, international trade, domestic scrap sourcing, and also our rebar exports. Right now, I’m managing this across five operating steel plants, and we are in an expansion phase. By Q4 2026, we’ll have a small and medium section mill coming up, followed by large section mills in 2027 and a wire rod mill by 2028. So overall, we’re looking at eight steel plants, four EAFs and four rolling mills across the Philippines.
I’ve spent over 14 years in the global steel industry and supply chain, working across India, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, with exposure to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Today, I manage more than USD 1.08 billion in annual steel trade.
At SteelAsia, our model is slightly different from many others. We don’t import scrap, we source everything domestically through a wide network of junk shops across the country. Since we operate EAFs, we don’t depend on iron ore or blast furnace inputs. Our key imports are semi-finished materials like billets and blooms, mainly from China, and to some extent from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan.
“Securing product allocation has become more critical than negotiating prices.”
How have recent disruptions in global supply chains, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and other regions, affected the steel industry? What measures are you taking to address these challenges?
To be very honest, what we are seeing now is not just disruption, it’s a different way the market is starting to behave.
From a Southeast Asia perspective, the impact of the Iran situation and the risks around key shipping routes has been quite direct.
Freight is the first thing that hits you. Earlier, we were bringing material from China to Manila at around USD 15 per ton. During the peak, it went up to USD 28, and even now it’s around USD 22. That’s a big jump, especially when you’re dealing with large volumes. But the bigger issue was supply.
Countries like Thailand and Indonesia were heavily dependent on Iranian billets. Once that supply was gone, everyone moved to China almost at the same time. Suddenly, Chinese mills were flooded with demand, and allocation became very tight.
Chinese-origin billet prices moved from around USD 450/MT CFR to above USD 515/MT CFR at the peak, and are currently around USD 510/MT CFR.
Due to the sudden absence of Iranian billet supply in Southeast Asia, buyers from countries such as Thailand and Indonesia shifted aggressively toward Chinese mills, creating allocation shortages and extending lead times from approximately two months to nearly three months. In many cases, securing allocation became more critical than negotiating price.
Additionally, shipping availability itself became a major challenge. Even after securing billet allocation from mills, vessel availability remained uncertain due to high regional demand, rising bunker costs, and freight volatility.
It was like there’s one cake, and the entire Southeast Asia is trying to get a piece of it at the same time.
Lead times also stretched, from two months to almost three months. So if you book today, you’re looking at shipment after a full quarter.
At the same time, shipping became unpredictable. Even if you have allocation and are ready to buy, you may not get a vessel. In many cases, vessels are being allocated based on who moves faster and who is ready to commit.
Suppliers also started pushing FOB deals with open freight, which means your final cost is uncertain until shipment. Add to that currency depreciation and rising fuel costs locally, and your landed cost becomes very difficult to control. And in a market like the Philippines, you cannot pass everything to the customer.
So you are managing supply risk, price risk, freight risk, and forex risk, all together.
How we handled it
A few things really made the difference for us.
First, relationships. In times like this, relationships are everything. A lot of the material we secured was not just because we were willing to pay, but because we had long-standing suppliers who trusted us and supported us with allocation when the market was tight.
Second, financial flexibility. Not just from banks, but also from suppliers. We had strong backing in terms of supplier credit and open account arrangements. That allowed us to move quickly and secure almost three months of raw materials within a very short time, something like two weeks.
Third, speed of decision-making. You don’t have the luxury to wait and analyze too much in such situations. If you delay, you lose the cargo. So we had to take fast calls, secure allocation, and in many cases even secure vessels in parallel.
This kind of environment is not about perfect decisions, it’s about timely decisions.
In the projects you lead on green steel and electric arc furnaces, what concrete steps have been taken to reduce carbon emissions, and what are your long-term goals?
I strongly believe that what we are doing at SteelAsia is already among the greenest steel models globally.
We are fully scrap-based, and that too domestic scrap. We collect material from across the Philippines through thousands of small suppliers and junk shops, and recycle it into finished steel. So we are not just producing steel, we are building a circular economy.
Since we use EAFs, we don’t rely on iron ore, coke, or coal. That itself reduces emissions significantly.
At our Calaca plant, which is Singapore CARES SS560 certified, our carbon emission is around 0.28 tons of CO₂ per ton of steel. That’s extremely low by global standards.
We are also using geothermal energy, which further reduces our footprint.
On top of that, we have been certified by DNV and have received top ESG ratings from Moody’s.
Going forward, the idea is simple, we replicate this model across all our upcoming plants. Every new facility we build will follow the same philosophy of low-emission, scrap-based production.
For us, sustainability is not something we are trying to add later. It’s already built into how we operate.
“In this market, being slow is the biggest disadvantage.”
When planning supply chain practices in the steel industry, which criteria do you prioritize the most, and how do you ensure supply continuity during crisis periods?
The priorities have changed quite a bit over the last few years. Earlier, cost was always the main focus. Now, the first priority is security of supply. After that, relationships. Because in tight markets, supply doesn’t go to the highest bidder, it goes to the most reliable buyer.
Then comes financial strength. If you cannot scale up quickly when the opportunity comes, you miss it. Logistics is also critical now. Freight is no longer just a cost, it’s a deciding factor in whether you can run your plant smoothly. And finally, speed. In this market, being slow is the biggest disadvantage.
To ensure continuity, we follow a few basic principles, multiple sourcing options, early booking, maintaining buffer inventory of around two to three months, and very close coordination between procurement, logistics, and finance. At the end of the day, supply chain today is about being prepared before the problem actually hits.
You operate in a wide range of markets such as ASEAN, MENA, EU, MEA, Canada, the US, and Australia. What critical factors do you consider for success in these diverse markets?
Every market behaves differently, but some things remain constant. You need to understand how trade flows are shifting. For example, something happening in Iran can directly impact pricing and availability in Southeast Asia.
You also need to be aware of regulations, especially in markets like the EU where carbon-related policies are becoming stricter. But more than anything, relationships matter. Steel is still a relationship-driven business. If people trust you, business becomes much easier.
Reliability is also very important. Customers value consistency, getting the right material, at the right time, without surprises. And of course, speed. Markets move fast, and you need to move faster.
How do you see the role of digitalization in steel production and supply processes? What innovative solutions is your company implementing in this area?
Digitalization is becoming more and more important, especially in terms of visibility and decision-making. We are focusing on improving how we track shipments, monitor supply, and use market information like Chinese futures and freight trends to guide decisions.
At the same time, we are also exploring AI integration across our supply chain, production, and scrap ecosystem. It’s still in progress because the Philippines is not a simple operating environment, over 7,000 islands, heavy inter-island logistics, and around 20 to 25 typhoons every year.
So whatever system we build has to be very robust and practical. It’s not just about technology, it has to work on the ground.
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