Spanish steelmakers increased scrap consumption by 50% y/y in August

In August 2023, the consumption of scrap in the Spanish steel sector increased by 50% compared to August 2022 – up to 626 thousand tons. Compared to July, the indicator increased by 5.9%. This is evidenced by the data of the Spanish association of steelmakers Unesid, reports Kallanish.

During January-August, Spanish steelmakers consumed 5.98 million tons of scrap, which is 3.8% more than in the same period last year. The use of scrap in steelmaking since 8 months amounted to 6.21 million tons, which is 82% of the total steel production for this period.

In August, the steel industry of Spain produced 864 thousand tons of steel, which is 4.4% more compared to July, and 28% more by August 2022. In January-August, the indicator decreased by 5.1% y/y – up to 7.57 million tons.

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.

In September 2023 Spain increased steel production by 35.3% compared to the previous month – up to 1.07 million tons. Compared to September 2022, the indicator increased by 5.3%. In January-September, the indicator decreased by 5.7% y/y – to 8.49 million tons.

Low indicators of steel production in January-September 2023 are connected with the weak state of the market, which has 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 filling the market with cheaper imported products. Currently, many companies have limited their capacity to balance supply and demand and stabilize product prices.