The SteelOrbis Fall 2022 Conference & 87th IREPAS Meeting opened in Monaco on October 9 with over 400 participants, including 107 representatives from 39 producers and 69 delegates from 43 raw mat suppliers. During his welcome speech, Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS, the global association for longs exporters and producers, said that the situation in the global long steel products market is unfortunately deteriorating in terms of oversupply, energy prices and inflation, adding that inventories are lasting a lot longer than expected amid insufficient demand. “The situation is dramatic, to say the least, and huge uncertainty lies ahead,” he noted.
“During our most recent gathering by the end of May in Istanbul, I had emphasized that oversupply had started to be seen in the market. Energy prices had also started to negatively impact manufacturing, especially in Europe. Inflation was another factor which was also having a negative impact on consumption,” the IREPAS chairman stated.
Mr. Cebecioglu said that the increase in energy prices is unprecedented, particularly in the EU, but also almost everywhere else. He went on to say that production cuts are expected soon, which will balance the drop in demand and then we can expect to see significant price increases. The IREPAS chairman indicated that Russian exports will continue to disturb prices, explaining that most producers worldwide are suffering from limited market access and high levels of competition, especially from Russia which is searching for any potential new markets with the price being more or less irrelevant.
While remarking that there is huge uncertainty regarding the next couple of quarters for the global long products market, Cebecioglu pointed out that shutdowns are spreading, and so a supply-demand equilibrium may be achieved sooner than expected.