The Italian long steel output decreased for the tenth month in a row on year-on-year basis in August, amounting to 289,000 mt, down by 26.1 percent y-o-y, due to longer than usual summer halts, according to Italian iron and steel federation Federacciai. A weaker August production figure can be traced only in 2009 (259,000 mt), after the world economic crisis in 2008.
On the other hand, flat steel production in Italy fell by 7.3 percent y-o-y to 919,000 mt in August.
In the first eight months of this year, long and flat steel production showed opposite trends. Long steel output decreased by 8.5 percent to 7.82 million mt, while flat steel production increased by 3.5 percent to 9.967 million mt, both compared to the corresponding period of last year. In the next few months, due to the stoppage of Taranto's Ilva ordered by the court, flat steel production will also likely record significant decreases.