Italian distributors reduced steel sales by 15% y/y in the first half of the year

Italian steel distributors in January-June 2024 reduced steel sales by 15% compared to the same period in 2023. This is evidenced by the data of the Italian Association of steel distributors Assofermet, reports Kallanish.

The negative trend is explained by consistently low prices for products and the margin of manufacturers. In June, there was a general decline in demand, which covers the market for a long period of time.

Some end users of steel express interest in negotiating deliveries for the fourth quarter of this year, and the first quarter of 2025. They aim to ensure the current low level of prices for future periods.

«Maximum attention is currently paid to the consequences of changing EU protective measures. This step should seriously affect the flow of steel products. Our concern is focused on the possible shortage of hot-rolled roll and, as a result, difficulties in keeping stocks at the proper level to meet the demand of end users. This gives confidence in the inevitable rise in prices that local producers will announce due to a decrease in import flow, «Assofermet comments.

It is expected that July will be difficult in terms of demand and price level due to the announced long downtime of some plants, which will lead to a potential shortage of certain products. At the same time, in August, EU steel plants will also resort to large-scale shutdowns, which will also significantly affect the supply of products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-May 2024, Italian steelmakers reduced steel production by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2023 – to 9.01 million tons. The output of long products amounted to 5.3 million tons (-1% y/y), and flat products – 3.8 million tons (-9.3% y/y).