According to data from the Italian Federation of Steel Producers Federacciai, Italian steelmakers produced a total of 2 million tons of steel in May 2024, up 3.7% y/y. However, this growth rate was down from 6.1% in April and 7.5% in March.
In the first five months of the year, Italy's total steel production increased by 4.1% to 9.3 million tons. This expansion in production volumes was supported by an increase in hot-rolled product groups, but here too there was a slowdown compared to previous months.
Long products: Long products increased by 1.8% in May with production of 1.2 million tons. Total production in this segment since the beginning of the year increased by 1.3% to 5.4 million tons.
Flat products: Flat products production was 824 thousand tons in May, increasing by 9% y/y. In the January-May period, production in this product group reached a total of 4.1 million tons with a y/y growth of 10.5%.
Regression in global production
Global steel production decreased by 3.8% in May. This was mainly driven by a 6.9% decrease in China's production. On the other hand, production volumes in the rest of the world remained stable at 0.2%.
Among the top ten global producing countries, different trends stood out. While India and the United States positively diverged with production increases of 9.7% and 1.7% respectively, Russia and Japan suffered production losses of 6.9% and 4.7%. Total steel production in the European Union also decreased by 3.1% in May, with Germany, the EU's largest producer, recording a decrease of 6.4%.
Mixed picture in steel consuming sectors
According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the industrial production index increased by 1% m/m in April, while it remained unchanged y/y (increased by 0.3%). Divergent movements in steel consuming sectors were noteworthy. Electric motor production increased by 2.7% and other transportation vehicles by 2.4%. On the other hand, metal products decreased by 0.7%, machinery by 1.3%, white goods by 4.1% and the automotive sector decreased by 17.6%.
Strong contribution from construction sector
Construction, an important sector in terms of steel consumption, increased by 2.4% in April compared to March and by 5.9% y/y. In the first four months of 2024, construction production made a positive contribution to the economy with an increase of 3.9%. This showed that the construction sector continues to be an important factor supporting steel demand.
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