The growth of steel production has lost momentum in Italy in October this year.
According to provisional data from Federacciai, the Italian steel producers' association, crude steel output in the same month was 2.2 million mt, down 4.1 percent compared to September and up 4.2 percent year on year. In the previous seven months, all year-on-year increases had been double-digit. The slowdown was largely determined by the surge in electricity costs which pushed EAF producers in particular to reduce their production by shortening work shifts and interrupting activities during peak hours. The October figure was thus in line with that of the same month of 2019.
In the January-October period this year, Italy's crude steel output surpassed 20.7 million mt, increasing by 24 percent compared to the same period last year, and rising by 4.6 percent compared to the same period of 2019.
2021 |
Crude steel output |
|||
Month |
000/mt |
Y-o-y change (%) |
progr. |
Y-o-y change (%) |
January |
1,894 |
+1.0 |
1,894 |
+1.0 |
February |
2,086 |
+2.2 |
3,980 |
+1.6 |
March |
2,299 |
+67.8 |
6,279 |
+18.8 |
April |
2,057 |
+79.0 |
8,336 |
+29.5 |
May |
2,211 |
+18.9 |
10,547 |
+27.1 |
June |
2,187 |
+20.5 |
12,734 |
+25.9 |
July |
2,204 |
+26.6 |
14,938 |
+26.0 |
August |
1,267 |
+34.6 |
16,205 |
+26.7 |
September |
2,304 |
+28.0 |
18,509 |
+26.8 |
October |
2,210 |
+4.2 |
20,719 |
+24.0 |
Looking at the flat and long product segments, in October this year Italy’s long product output amounted to 1.26 million mt, down 1.3 percent year on year, while output of flat steel in the same month totalled 1.04 million mt, increasing by 18.3 percent year on year. In the January-October period, long steel production increased by 25.5 percent, to 11.5 million mt, while flat steel production rose by 18.7 percent, to 9.2 million mt.
