During Tuesday's session of the SteelOrbis Spring ’07 Conference and IREPAS 56th annual meeting, Andres Barcelo of UNESID (union of Spanish iron and steel companies) briefly discussed the European long products market.
Outlining the market in question, Mr. Barcelo told his audience that Europe produces 72.8 million metric tons of long products per year. Wire rod is the number one product produced, followed by rebar, merchant bar and sections. The main long products producers in Europe include Italy, Germany, and Spain.
Turning next to Europe’s trade balance in long products, Mr. Barcelo used a graphical presentation to show that the European trade balance is positive in sections, almost balanced for merchant bar and wire rod, but negative for rebar. Europe's main import sources for wire rod and rebar are Turkey and China.
The construction confidence index published by the European Commission showed an increase in 2006. Mr. Barcelo said that the construction confidence level is still on the rise, after having bottomed out back in 2002. In conclusion, Mr. Barcelo declared that the strong construction market (though housing is not as strong as non-residential) can be expected to contribute to the continuing robustness of the European long products market.