Italy reduced steel production by 8.4% y/y in September

In September 2024, Italian steelmakers reduced steel production by 8.4% compared to the same period in 2023, to 1.79 million tons. The figure increased by 2.3 times compared to the previous month. This is reported by SteelOrbis with reference to data from the Italian Federation of Steelworkers Federacciai.

Production of long products for the month decreased by 5.4% compared to September 2023 and increased by 3.1 times m/m – to 1.1 million tons. Flat products output amounted to 755 thousand tons, down 9.1% y/y and up 81.9% m/m.

The significant month-on-month increase is the result of a low comparison base, as in August most Italian steel mills shut down facilities for maintenance or cut production due to unfavorable market conditions.

In January-September 2024, Italian steelmakers reduced steel production by 5.6% compared to the same period in 2023, to 15.1 million tons. Production of long products amounted to 8.8 million tons (+0.5% y/y), and flat products – 6.4 million tons (-10.3% y/y).

In 2023, Italian steelmakers reduced steel production by 2.5% compared to 2022, to 21.06 million tons. The decline in steel production was driven by a decline in global demand for steel products and high energy costs.

Long products production for the year amounted to 11.68 million tons, down 2.9% compared to 2022, and flat products production amounted to 9.54 million tons (-0.1% y/y).

In total, the EU produced 126.3 million tons of steel in 2023, down 7.4% y/y. In December, the EU countries increased steel production by 2.7% compared to December 2022 – up to 9.1 million tons.