Day: 9 December 2025

German cold-roller group Waelzholz is installing a new four-high reversing mill and a two-base bell annealing furnace at its Brazilian unit  Waelzholz Brasmetal.

In addition, the site in São Paulo is planning to install four more bell annealing furnaces, a slitting line, and a packaging line, Kallanish hears from the parent group. This expanded production capacity will mean an additional 33,000 tonnes/year of cold rolled steel strip

The four-high reversing mill and the two-base bell annealing furnace are scheduled to be up and running by May 2026. This investment alone will increase the Brazilian location’s production capacity by 11,000t/y.

The rolling mill, equipped with a twin-drive system, features digital drive and control technology. In addition, the roll gap control and strip tracking systems have been designed and optimised for rolling asymmetric thickness profiles, Waelzholz explains

The measures represent the largest single investment in the history of Waelzholz Brasmetal, the parent group notes. It sees them as a strategy also against tariffs and trade restrictions that are changing the global economic environment. To meet these challenges, it says it is investing specifically in the respective economic regions, as this allows to adapt production and logistics systems to local conditions.

Christian Koehl Germany

kallanish.com

Italian heavy plate contract prices have continued to rise, with lead times extending further with demand strengthening during November and into December while import offers have largely disappeared from the market.

Two mill sources tell Kallanish that the previously estimated €50/tonne ($58.11/t) increase would likely be insufficient to cover the additional slab import costs generated by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Plate order intake is described as healthy, with lead times now stretching into January. Mills are currently asking €670/t for basic S275 plate, with a €35/t premium applied to S355 material. Contract prices for S275 are reported around €650/t ex-works. One source confirms that the €670/t level has been achieved, although only for small volumes, and is expected to consolidate in the coming weeks.

Mills are expected to push prices higher again in January. Producers initially asked €700/t ex-works for S275, but they are now recalculating their future offers in light of CBAM related slab costs, with further upward adjustments likely.

Imported slab into Italy is currently assessed at $510-520/t cfr, market participants note.

CBAM, the proposed melt-and-pour rule and new safeguard measures continue to create substantial market confusion.

Natalia Capra France

kallanish.com

“I expect movement in the coming weeks,” a distributor source in Northern Europe said, adding that both buyers and sellers were “delaying decisions” into the beginning of next year while they await more clarity from the market after the year-end holidays.

In Northern Europe, estimates of workable prices for HRC were heard at €610-625 ($709-727) per tonne ex-works, while an offer was heard around €630-635 per tonne ex-works.

No deals were heard during the day on Monday.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €622.25 per tonne on Monday, down by €0.25 per tonne from €622.50 per tonne on December 5.

The index was up by €3.50 per tonne week on week and by €15.58 per tonne month on month.

Meanwhile, in Italy, a source said that the local market was “stalling” while it awaited “potential increases” to prices in the coming weeks.

No fresh deals were heard on Monday. Estimates of workable prices were heard within the range of €600-610 per tonne ex-works.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €611.25 per tonne on Monday, down by €2.08 per tonne from €613.33 per tonne on December 5.

The index was up by €7.84 per tonne week on week and by €15.25 per tonne month on month.