Visible steel consumption in Italy in 2022 decreased by 4.5% y/y

In 2022, the visible consumption of steel in Italy decreased by 4.5% compared to 2021 – to 29 million tons. This is evidenced by the data of the Italian association of steel producers Federacciai, reports Kallanish.

Domestic steel supplies to the domestic market decreased by 10.8% year-on-year – to 10.4 million tons.

The export of steel by Italian steelmakers to the countries of the European Union in 2022 amounted to 10.3 million tons, which is 8.4% less y/y. Exports to third countries amounted to almost 1.7 million tons (-21.7% y/y).

Germany was the largest consumer of Italian steel – 2.4 million tons, which is 13.9% less y/y. Romania bought 21.5% less steel from Italy, Austria – 9.5% less. Italian exports to Canada fell to 14,000 tonnes in 2022, down from 158,000 tonnes in 2021. Steel supplies to Turkiye amounted to 262,000 tons, which is 29.5% less y/y. Sales to the USA increased by 22.4% y/y – up to 179,000 tons.

The total import of steel to Italy for 2022 was 18.7 million tons. This is 2.5% less than in 2021. Imports from EU countries decreased by 2.1% y/y – to 8.6 million tons, and from third countries – by 2.8% y/y, to 10.2 million tons.

Steel supplies from France amounted to 1.9 million tons, decreasing by 2.1% y/y. Germany is in the second place with 1.8 million tons (-18.2% y/y). Among the third countries, Ukraine showed the largest drop in steel supplies to Italy – 439,000 tons in 2022 against 2.2 million tons in 2021. At the same time, China increased steel exports to Italy from 597,000 tons in 2021 to 1.5 million tons in 2022.

As GMK Center reported earlier, steel enterprises of Italy in 2022 reduced steel production by 11.5% compared to the same period of the previous year – to 21.6 million tons. In 2022, the production of rolled products in the country decreased by 12% y/y – to 12.03 million tons, flat rolled products – by 13.8% y/y, to 9.55 million tons.

According to the WorldSteel association, steel production in the EU countries in 2022 decreased by 10.5% year-on-year – to 136.7 million tons. In general, steel production in the world fell by 4.3% y/y – to 1.83 billion tons. During the past year, the situation in European steel industry was affected by such factors as high prices for energy resources, high volatility of prices and demand, and a decrease in steel exports from the EU. They were partly caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.