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Try the Free AI Search EngineItaly Steel Production Rises Amidst Consumption Concerns: A European Market Overview
European steel markets present a mixed picture, with Italian production showing signs of recovery amidst broader consumption challenges. “Italian apparent consumption decreases, Germany trade becomes deficit” and “Italy’s apparent consumption is declining, Germany’s trade balance is becoming scarce” highlight the decline in Italian consumption and trade imbalances with Germany. While these articles signal demand-side weakness, “Italy increased steel production by 6% m/m in October” and “Italian crude steel production up 2.2 percent in October 2025” indicate a rebound in Italian steel production. These conflicting signals necessitate careful navigation for steel buyers.
The data indicates fluctuating activity across the observed plants. The mean steel plant activity in Europe fluctuates considerably over the observed months. Sidenor Steel Industry Thessaloniki plant shows a consistent increase in activity from June (58%) to October (65%). JSC Moldova Steel Works shows a slight increase from June (30%) to September (33%), with no data available for October. Kehler Baden Steel Works shows a stable activity level, with a slight increase from June (29%) to October (31%). The Sidenor plant activity exceeds the European mean.
Sidenor Steel Industry Thessaloniki plant, an EAF-based facility with 800,000 tonnes of crude steel capacity, focuses on rebar, bars & coil, merchant bars, and wire rod for sectors including automotive and construction. The plant’s activity steadily increased from 58% in June to 65% in October. This upward trend does not have a direct link to any of the provided news articles.
JSC Moldova Steel Works, operating a 120-tonne EAF with a 1 million tonne capacity, produces wire rod, rebar, and billet. The plant’s activity rose slightly from 30% in June to 33% in September. No data is available for October. No direct link could be established between this plant’s activity and the provided news articles.
Kehler Baden Steel Works, with a 2.5 million tonne capacity based on EAF technology, produces wire rod, bar, rebar, and billet for the construction sector. Its activity remained relatively stable, rising slightly from 29% in June to 31% in October. There is no clear connection between these observed stable operations and the trends identified in the provided news articles.
Despite the overall increase in Italian steel production reported in “Italy increased steel production by 6% m/m in October” and “Italian crude steel production up 2.2 percent in October 2025”, “Italian merchant bar production hits multi-year low: Federacciai” and “Bar production in Italy has reached a multi-year low: Federacciai” highlight significant weakness in merchant bar production, which fell by 7.2%. This suggests a potential oversupply of certain steel products (specifically flat steel), while specific long product segments may face supply constraints.
* Procurement Action: Steel buyers should carefully assess their specific needs for long versus flat products. Given the reported decline in merchant bar production, buyers requiring these products should secure supply agreements promptly to mitigate potential shortages and price increases.
* Procurement Action: Given “Italian apparent consumption decreases, Germany trade becomes deficit” and “Italy’s apparent consumption is declining, Germany’s trade balance is becoming scarce” reporting trade imbalances between Italy and Germany, steel buyers should explore opportunities to diversify their supply base. The increased exports from India and Turkey to Italy, as highlighted in these articles, present alternative sourcing options.