Spain reduced steel production by 2.7% y/y in 2023

In 2023, Spanish steel companies reduced steel production by 2.7% compared to 2022, to 11.26 million tons. This is evidenced by data from the WorldSteel Association.

In December 2023, Spanish steelmakers produced 712 thousand tons of steel, up 7.4% compared to December 2022 and down 30.9% compared to November. The December figure is the lowest over the past year.

The average monthly steel production in Spain in 2023 amounted to 938.5 thousand tons, while in the same period of 2022 the figure was 964.42 thousand tons (-2.69% y/y).

In 2022 Spain reduced steel production by 19.2% compared to 2021 – to 11.46 million tons. In December, the country’s steelmakers produced 686,000 tons of steel, which is 19.8% less than the previous month.

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

Low steel production last year was due to the weak market conditions that have been observed since the fall of 2022. The European steel industry is facing high production costs at a time when demand for domestic steel products is weak amid a flood of cheaper imported products. In the autumn and winter, many companies limit their capacity to balance supply and demand and stabilize product 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 production fell by 4.3% y/y last year – to 1.831 billion tons.