The good performance of the steel sector last year was also reflected in the 2006 figures for the Italian scrap segment. Last year there was a decisive increase in the Italian mills' scrap purchases and also a very strong rise in domestic collection of scrap.
Whereas in 2005, steel producers' scrap requirements totaled 21.7 million metric tons, last year the scrap volume jumped up 11.4 percent to 24.2 million mt. In 2006 the scrap collected by the Italian steel mills' own sources increased from 2.36 million mt to 2.75 million mt, while all other scrap procurement by the mills climbed 10.8 percent from 19.35 million mt to 21.44 million mt.
Domestic scrap collection in Italy in 2006 rose by 16.8 percent to 15.5 million mt, while overseas purchases fell below six million mt (from 6.28 million mt to 5.89 million mt). Scrap inventory in Italy on the last day of 2006 saw a year on year fall of 92.500 mt, dropping to 1.37 million mt.