Looking at the current trading situation in the Italian beams market, service centers and distributors are at present engaged in a fierce struggle to snatch up orders from end-users, and this is having a direct knock-on effect on sales quotations. Retail warehouses are experiencing a relatively better situation, though nothing to get too excited about. With regard to steelmakers, on the other hand, the numbers of orders coming in are satisfactory.
Turning to the availability of material, traders report that it is now easier to find beams (especially smaller dimensions) compared to the recent past. However, it is proving more difficult to find larger sizes.
With regard to prices, the Brescia Chamber of Commerce price commission has posted a decline of €10/mt in its reference base quotation prices for beams for the first half of September. Looking towards the short-term future, some of the main European producers (including ArcelorMittal and Peiner Träger) have announced upward adjustments of around €15-20/mt for base prices of their products due to the increase in raw material costs. While some traders have expressed confidence in the success of this maneuver, others are less optimistic.