France reduced steel production by 28.5% m/m in January-June

In January-June 2023, French steel enterprises reduced steel production by 28.5% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 4.86 million tons. This is evidenced by World Steel Association’s data.

In June 2023, French steelmakers produced 791 thousand tons of steel, which is 31.5% less compared to June last year and 1.7% compared to May. Thus, steel production in the country fell to a minimum since March 2023.

The average monthly steel production in France in January-June amounted to 810.3 thousand tons, while for the same period in 2022 the figure was at the level of 1.13 million tons (-28.5% y/y).

In 2022, France cut steel production by 26% compared to 2021 – to 12.12 million tons. Thus, the country took 16th place in the WorldSteel global ranking of steel producers.

In general, steel production in the EU countries in June 2023 fell by 11.1% compared to June last year – to 10.6 million tons. In January-June 2023, 66.3 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 10.9% less y/y.

The decline in steel production is likely due to weak demand for finished products, as well as unfavorable pricing conditions. High production costs of steelmakers do not allow reducing steel prices to levels that would be favorable for buyers, so the demand for domestic products is low. At the same time, imported steel is in demand due to lower prices.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, European steelmakers reduced steel production by 10.5% compared to 2021 – to 136.7 million tons. Overall, global steel output fell 4.3% y/y last year – to 1.831 billion tons.