Steel prices in Ukraine rose by at least 10–15% in 1H2026

Vitaliy Prytula, director of the company Eurometal (Lviv), spoke about the current state of the rolled steel market in Ukraine, price trends, the nature of demand and the logistics situation.

Company results

The first quarter of this year was slightly better than the same period last year, although the market situation during this period could hardly be described as positive. Growth in the first quarter stood at approximately 15–20% compared with last year, driven mainly by large carry-over orders from 2025, the delivery of which simply continued

In the second quarter, the situation picked up noticeably — this period can be described as very active: new construction projects, new enquiries and new projects emerged, so the situation is looking quite good. Overall, for the first half of the year, Eurometal reported a 20% increase in rolled steel sales volumes compared with the same period last year.

Market situation

Demand has risen across virtually all product categories. Given the nature of the company’s projects — predominantly comprehensive ones — deliveries include beams, sheets, pipes and angle sections. There has been no unusual growth in any single product category: overall consumption is rising, covering virtually all segments.

At the same time, shortages of certain rolled steel items were periodically reported among individual suppliers — the reasons for this are unknown, but, according to customers, this occurred regularly with some major suppliers. On a market-wide scale, this problem was not significant: where one supplier was out of stock, another had stock available. This is likely a problem specific to certain players, particularly the major traders.

Furthermore, due to the anti-dumping investigation into profile pipes from Turkey, a significant increase in imports was observed over a two-month period: Ukrainian companies placed large advance orders for these products in anticipation of the introduction of duties. Turkish factories were even overwhelmed with orders from Ukrainian buyers. Now that it has become clear that duties may be introduced as early as this month, new orders have slowed down somewhat. Customers who, for example, have to wait a month for shaped tubes are not prepared to take on the risk of having to pay the duties, whilst suppliers, for their part, are also unwilling to bear this risk. In other words, the market for shaped tubes is currently being held back to some extent by this uncertainty.

The impact of the war in Iran on prices and demand

The biggest impact on the market in the first quarter was the outbreak of war in Iran, which triggered a rise in fuel and transport costs. The situation was two-sided: to some extent, it stimulated demand, as customers realised that steel prices would rise and therefore tried to stock up in advance. Steel prices did indeed rise, as did delivery costs — over the half-year, steel prices increased by at least 10–15%, depending on the specific rolled steel product. Consequently, customers with available funds were keen to purchase steel at the old prices.

Delivery costs fell after the peak period, although not to pre-war levels. Whilst before early March, when hostilities began in Iran, the cost of delivering rolled steel by lorry from Turkey was approximately 120–125 thousand UAH, at the peak it rose to 180–200 thousand UAH. Currently, delivery costs stand at approximately 140–150 thousand UAH.

Prices for rolled steel rose most sharply following the outbreak of the war in Iran — due to uncertainty and rising fuel prices, which affected production costs at the mills. This is a general trend: mill prices have risen directly in both Turkey and Europe.

Demand by market segment

The company’s portfolio is generally stable and consists mainly of commercial projects — warehouses, grain silos, etc. The agricultural sector began to recover in the second quarter. In the first quarter, global markets saw a fall in prices for grain and agricultural produce in general, leading farmers to expect a change in the price trend. In the second quarter, the situation in this segment picked up.

It is difficult to assess the state of demand in infrastructure construction: the company made very few deliveries in this sector during the first half of the year, and there is no clear data on whether this is specific to the company or a nationwide trend. At the same time, according to discussions with major steel structure manufacturers, particularly those operating in Dnipro, the share of infrastructure construction in their order books is significant — according to several manufacturers, without infrastructure construction they would face significant problems with maintaining full capacity. A possible reason for this discrepancy is the rather specific range of rolled steel products traded by our company.

Logistics and supplies

The company did not experience any logistics issues, particularly due to shelling of port infrastructure. Furthermore, this year we began transporting steel from Turkey by barge for the first time — the company had not done this before. Two barges carrying steel were brought in, but no complications arose: in April–May, when these deliveries took place, transport by sea and transhipment at the port went smoothly. There are no complications with road transport either, apart from the cost.

The steel structures segment and the staffing issue

The situation in the steel structures segment is generally positive. All our key clients – that is, the major Ukrainian steelworks – are fully booked for two to four months in advance, depending on the plant.

In March, according to them, the volume of work was noticeably lower — this was due to the same factors of uncertainty: farmers were putting some of their investments on hold, and there were negative price trends for agricultural produce on the markets. However, the situation has now improved.

The main problem lies not in the manufacture of structures — the factories are coping with this just fine — but in the installation. Several clients who combine manufacturing with installation report that whilst it is still possible to set a reasonable deadline for the manufacture of new projects, installation has to be scheduled four to five months in advance: installation work is lagging behind production due to a labour shortage. The reason is that installation work involves travelling, and there are very few people left who are able to move freely around Ukraine for such work.

This problem also has a broader context: across the market as a whole, the trend of a decline in the number of people able to work is continuing — and even intensifying. It would seem things couldn’t get any worse, yet the situation continues to deteriorate.