Day: 29 May 2026

SSAB says it will be supplying decarbonised steel to Vattenfall for the construction of the ground-mounted solar park Juliusburg/Krukow in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The steel, SSAB Zero, produced from recycled scrap using fossil-free electricity and biogas, will be used in the supporting structures on which the solar panels are mounted. In total, more than 9,000 steel profiles will be used, with a combined weight of 209 tonnes, SSAB informs Kallanish.

“The electricity generated from this solar farm will help reduce Germany’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. But for us fossil freedom does not end with electricity generation – it starts right at the beginning of the supply chain,” says Claus Wattendrup, head of solar and batteries at Vattenfall.

CO2 emissions will be reduced by 67% along the supply and construction chain, compared with conventional steels, Vattenfall notes. The energy group also uses reduced carbon emissions steels in its wind farm projects Clashindarroch (UK), Nordlicht I and Nordlicht II (North Sea).

The Juliusberg/Krukow solar park will have a capacity of 80 megawatts, and an annual electricity yield of 120 gigawatt hours, the approximate amount to feed 30,000 households.

The coming months should see increased Polish construction activity after April output soared following a disappointing start to the year, says ING Bank. This will mainly be driven by accelerating infrastructure projects enabled by EU funds through Poland’s National Recovery Plan (KPO).

Construction activity rose by 4.5% year-on-year in April, above ING’s forecast of 0.5% and the consensus estimate of 1.3%, after severe winter weather froze output in January and February, Kallanish notes.

In recent months, doubts have arisen over whether KPO funding will be fully disbursed to final beneficiaries before the end-2026 deadline to ensure their full utilisation.

Investments financed by EU debt, including for defence purposes, through KPO loans and SAFE programme loans, will also support construction production this year, the bank says.

“With some delay, we will also see a rebound in the housing sector due to the increase in the creditworthiness of potential buyers (effects of earlier interest rate cuts, rising wages, slowing down of housing price increases),” ING writes in a note.

Polish industrial production rose 3.1% year-on-year in April, slowing from 7.5% growth in March.

“In recent quarters, stagnation trends have been visible in the manufacturing sector of our main trading partners (weak production in Germany, although orders are rebounding there). These trends are now being reinforced by disappointing readings of manufacturing PMI indices from the eurozone. Furthermore, some sectors are struggling with growing competitive pressure from China,” ING notes.

“We fear that the industrial recovery in the coming months will be moderate, and a return to a situation where production grows faster than GDP is doubtful. Poland is launching massive public and defence investments, which will revive the industry, but the activity of the defence sector, for example, may prove insufficient to immediately provide a noticeable boost to the entire industry, where we are more reliant on other infrastructure and public investments,” the bank concludes.

Several European organisations are calling for a clear ban of beaching and landing methods for shipbreaking and the guarantee of a real level playing field for the ship recycling sector. 

The call is led by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of organisations working to reverse the environmental harm and human rights abuses caused by current shipbreaking practices. In its appeal, it has been joined by industry federations Eurofer and Recycling Europe.

The three groups already voiced a call in December to the European Commission to boost ship recycling capacity in the EU, which would complement the Commission’s initiative to review the guidelines for ship recycling yards in third countries.

To guarantee a level playing field for recyclers in and outside the EU, the groups demand a clear ban on beaching and landing as dismantling methods, and to only authorise facilities with full containment. They also demand that dismantlers be obliged to acquire authorisations and permits needed for inclusion in the European list in line with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The NGO in this context points at Turkey, namely yards located in Aliağa. The country’s shipbreaking sector is exempt from the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation and EIA procedures, it notes.

“Together with Turkish civil society organisations, we reiterate the call to remove Turkish facilities from the EU List until necessary improvements are properly implemented,” Kallanish reads in the joint statement.

The situation as it is now “undermines the very objective of the List to act as the role model for best practices for the ship recycling sector,” the signees say.

The Italian government has approved a new €100 million ($116.35m) loan to Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) as part of the recent decree on fuel excise duties approved by the Council of Ministers last week.

This is the second tranche of a total €240m loan package, with a further €140m expected to be approved in July. The funds are provided “to meet the urgent and unavoidable need to preserve the operational continuity of the steelmaking equipment … pending the completion of the ongoing sale procedure,” the decree reviewed by Kallanish states.

The new funding will exhaust the maximum ceiling of €390m in aid authorised by the European Commission earlier this year. A source close to the company confirms the loan is limited to covering operational expenses and has to be repaid within six months. The financing will be used to cover liquidity for works, suppliers and salaries.

Meanwhile, the sale process for ADI’s assets is dragging on, with negotiations said to be stalling with the two international bidders, Flacks Group and Jindal Steel International. An informed source says Jindal’s requests are deemed unacceptable, while Flacks has asked the Italian government for a €500m bridge loan to support the site’s relaunch.

Earlier this year, the Italian government approved a €149m loan for ADI to sustain operations at the Taranto steelworks. The loan, published in the Official Gazette, was granted to prevent the immediate and irreversible shutdown of the blast furnaces, protect workers and preserve the ongoing sale negotiations with the bidders (see Kallanish passim).

According to the latest monthly report published by the German Central Bank (Bundesbank), Germany’s economic output increased significantly during the first quarter of 2026, indicating greater resilience than previously expected despite ongoing economic pressures. Industrial production, industrial sales, and goods exports recorded strong performance during the period.

The Bundesbank stated that industrial activity benefited from stronger domestic and international demand, while exports were particularly supported by shipments to non-eurozone markets, especially the United States.

Labor market conditions continue to weaken

Despite the stronger-than-expected economic performance, the Bundesbank warned that Germany’s labor market continued to deteriorate. According to the report, the weakening labor market reflects not only softer employment conditions but also ongoing demographic challenges affecting the country’s workforce structure.

The central bank also noted that business sentiment in parts of the services sector worsened significantly following the outbreak of the war in Iran.

Higher energy prices push inflation upward

Inflation remained elevated during the first quarter, mainly due to rising energy prices linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Bundesbank stated that prices for fuels and heating oil increased sharply in March after crude oil prices rose following the outbreak of the Iran conflict.

Although services inflation eased somewhat, it remained above historical averages. Germany’s annual inflation rate increased further to 2.9 percent in April and is expected to remain elevated in the coming months. According to the report, future inflation developments will remain heavily dependent on how the Middle East conflict evolves.

German economy expected to stagnate in Q2

The Bundesbank stated that Germany’s economy is expected to stagnate during the second quarter of 2026 due to the economic impact of the Middle East conflict.

Higher inflation and declining purchasing power are weighing on private consumption and consumer-related service sectors. At the same time, elevated energy prices and supply bottlenecks are negatively affecting industrial activity and the construction sector.

Frontloading effects may prove temporary

The report also noted that some industrial sectors temporarily benefited from frontloading effects as companies accelerated orders in anticipation of future supply shortages. However, the Bundesbank cautioned that these supportive effects are likely to be temporary.

According to the central bank, the negative consequences of the conflict are expected to increasingly burden German industry in the coming months through higher costs, weaker demand, and continued supply chain disruptions.

Several major European Union member states are pushing for a tougher trade and industrial policy toward China as concerns grow over market distortions, industrial overcapacity and the impact of Chinese exports on European manufacturing.

According to media reports, A France-led group of five EU countries, including Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Lithuania, are calling for stronger trade defense tools and expanded market protection measures ahead of key discussions in Brussels on the bloc’s future China strategy.

European governments seek stronger trade protections

The push reflects increasing concern within Europe over Chinese industrial overcapacity, subsidized exports, and growing pressure on European manufacturing sectors including steel, automotive and clean technologies.

EU member states are reportedly urging the European Commission to make greater use of antidumping measures, anti-subsidy investigations, foreign subsidy rules, and procurement restrictions. The discussions come as the EU increasingly seeks to balance economic ties with China against industrial security and strategic autonomy objectives.

Germany shifts toward tougher stance

Germany, traditionally viewed as one of Europe’s more China-friendly economies due to strong industrial ties, is reportedly supporting stronger trade instruments amid rising concern over unfair competition and economic dependency risks. However, the country is having an internal debate on revising ties and has yet to sign the paper.

European hot-rolled coil prices were slightly weaker on Tuesday May 26, amid persistently weak demand from buyers with sufficient stocks, sources told Fastmarkets.

In Northern Europe, buyers estimates of the achievable price came in at €660-690 ($768-803) per tonne for June-July delivery, with the lower end of the range for larger tonnages of more than 5,000 tonnes.

Earlier in May, one leading European steelmaker and integrated mills in Germany were selling July delivery HRC at quite aggressive prices, sources said, at around €675-685 per tonne delivered (€660-670 per tonne ex-works), to try and fill gaps in their summer order books. But demand remained limited and only a few buyers were looking for large tonnages.

Transactional prices were way below the official offer prices for HRC from local integrated mills in Germany and the Benelux region, at around €710-730 per tonne delivered (€695-715 per tonne ex-works) – although one integrated mill in the Benelux area remained inactive after experiencing issues with equipment.

“Stocks are more than sufficient [and] some service centers said they don’t need material until September,” a buyer in Germany said.

“HRC sales from stock dropped by around 20% in April 2026 compared with March. And in May it will be even lower – we on;y had 17 working days in May due to numerous public holidays,” the buyer added.

Having achieved some orders for July, however, sources said European producers were becoming less flexible on pricing.

“[A leading European steelmaker] collected enough orders for July, then stopped aggressive sales,” a second buyer in Germany said.

“The [steelmaker] is likely to come back with higher offers shortly [and] mills hope the new safeguards [will help] prices to rebound later in the year,” the buyer added.

On Tuesday, several sources told Fastmarkets that leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal was aiming for an increase of €80 per tonne for new offers, with the latest offers from the supplier for June-July delivery HRC heard at €730 per tonne delivered – although no confirmed transactions at that level have been reported recently.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €676.46 per tonne on May 26, down by €3.54 per tonne from €680.00 per tonne on May 22.

Fastmarkets’ European HRC index was not published on May 25 because of the Spring Bank Holiday in the UK, but the index was down €5.54 per tonne week on week on Tuesday and by €33.54 per tonne month on month.

In Southern Europe, meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €673.77 per tonne ex-works on Tuesday, down by €3.73 per tonne from €677.50 per tonne on May 22.

The index was down by €5.61 per tonne week on week and by €26.23 per tonne month on month.

Italian mills were offering July delivery coil at around €700 per tonne delivered (€685 per tonne ex-works), but most sources said the realistic transaction level in Italy was no higher than €680-690 per tonne delivered (€665-675 per tonne ex-works).

A transaction for 1,000 tonnes was heard at around €675 per tonne ex-works for July delivery, sources said.

One local re-roller in southern Europe, which had suspended HRC production at the beginning of April due to technical issues, is now expected to resume operations in June, sources told Fastmarkets

In the secondary market, sales of 4mm S235-grade HR sheet fell back to €750-770 per tonne CPT in Italy, down from €780-800 per tonne CPT at the end of April.

Import market activity remained subdued across Europe, meanwhile, amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the structure of the EU’s new trade regime, which is set to come into force in July 2026, combined with a lack of clarity around costs associated with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). These factors have continued to weigh on buyer sentiment and restrain interest in new import bookings, with no fresh offers heard in the market on Tuesday.

European domestic hot-rolled coil prices remained largely unchanged on Wednesday May 27 as trading activity in the majority of the region’s markets stayed subdued.

In Northern Europe, many participants took holiday breaks, which slowed down an already sluggish market.

Indications of tradeable levels came at €680 per tonne ex-works during the day, with no major bookings reported.

A day earlier, several sources told Fastmarkets that leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal was aiming for an increase of €80 per tonne for new offers, with the latest offers from the supplier for June-July delivery HRC heard at €730 per tonne delivered, which equals to €715 per tonne ex-works.

Market participants called the new price unrealistic, considering that even €715 per tonne ex-works has not been reached in recent transactions.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €680.00 ($790.94) per tonne on May 27, up by €3.54 per tonne from €676.46 per tonne on May 26.

The index was down by €2 per tonne week on week and by €28.33 per tonne month on month.

The Italian market was also quiet, with tradeable levels estimated within the range of €670-680 per tonne ex-works.

Market participants explained the lack of trading activity with high stocks and low real demand.

The corresponding Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €676.25 per tonne on May 27 up by €2.48 per tonne from €673.77 per tonne on May 26.

The index was down by €1.75 per tonne week on week and down by €23.75 per tonne month on month.

Turkish HRC was heard available at €600-620 per tonne CFR, excluding anti-dumping duty in Italy, while Indian coil was reported available at €685-690 per tonne CFR.

Algerian material was said to be offered to Spain at €720-730 per tonne DDP.

A small cargo of Taiwanese HRC was offered at €740 per tonne DDP by traders.

German mills in April continued the trend of previous months, with an increase by 9.5% of crude steel production, compared with April 2025, to 3.2 million tonnes.

During the first four months of the year, the year-on-year increase was 9.1% in comparison with the corresponding 2025 period, Kallanish hears from national steel federation WV Stahl.

WV underlines the increase at oxygen-route mills, which in April was 10.7% y-o-y, totalling 2.2mt. EAF-route steel production rose by 7.1% to 1.0mt. The trend is even more pronounced when looking at the four-month figures, with oxygen-route steel up by 11% y-o-y to 8.6mt, and EAF-route steel up 5.8%, to 3.9mt.

The latest figures confirm a sustained stabilisation of German steel production, the federation states. But it also points that mills have not returned to normality. On a full year basis, the current production levels would reach 37.5mt, with quite a gap to 40mt, which is seen as the threshold for the profitable operation of mills.

Italian long steel producer Duferco Group is boosting its logistics hub in Sicily by its plant in Giammoro, in the province of Messina.

Its subsidiary Duferco Terminal Mediterraneo has reached full capacity at the Giammoro terminal, boosting its role as a strategic intermodal platform for commercial and industrial flows in the Mediterranean.

Logistics services for Pittini Group remain a cornerstone of the terminal’s operations, with an average of 6,000 tonnes of steel products handled per vessel. The service is operated by NovaAlgoma Short Sea Carriers’ Sider Unicorn and covers the full logistics chain from sea transport to discharge, handling, storage and transfer to the terminal’s rail-connected warehouse, the company says in a note obtained by Kallanish.

The terminal’s rail interconnection also entered full operation in May, enabling the arrival and storage of a range of goods including steel beams, further reinforcing the site’s intermodal capabilities.

In May, the terminal handled its first call by the MV X-Press Sagarmala, launching a new weekly X-Press Feeders service linking Giammoro to Algeciras, Tanger Med and southern Italy.

In 2024, Duferco obtained the concession for the commercial exploitation of the port terminal, for which the firm submitted a development project to carry out naval and logistics services. This is part of the reconversion and diversification plan for the Giammoro steel facility, which Duferco is pursuing with a total investment of €95 million ($110m), backed by a SACE state guarantee (see Kallanish passim).