The rising trend in Italian steel imports from non-European Union countries continues unabated, according to the figures issued by Italian customs by for the first five months of the current year.
During the period in question, Italian steel imports from non-EU sources reached 5.838 million metric tons (mt), up 33.6 percent compared to the same period last year. The increase in semi finished imports in Jan-May 2007 was particularly high at 59.8 percent, rising to 2.295 million mt.
Meanwhile, Italian imports of flat products from non-EU countries in Jan-May 2007 reached 2.289 million mt, compared to 2.109 million mt in the corresponding period last year. Looking at the figures in greater detail, total coil imports fell by 11.2 percent year on year to 1.1114 million mt, while hot dip galvanized imports saw a strong increase of 192.9 percent, climbing to 287,000 mt. Imports of hot rolled sheet and plates went up by 71.4 percent to 180,000 mt.
Imports of long products into Italy from outside the European Union during Jan-May 2007 increased by 293,000 mt, i.e. a 61.7 percent rise, to 768,000 mt. Most notably, wire rod imports went up by 191,000 mt, rebar imports rose by 38,000 mt, while imports of merchant bars increased by approximately 50,000 mt.