Year: 2026

Salzgitter has announced the opening of a new training and communication centre at Ilsenburger Grobblech, the group’s maker of quarto plate. 

The modern training workshop will not only be used to train young professionals, but also for the long-term qualifications for employees at Ilsenburger Grobblech. In particular, the centre will be available to industrial mechanics, for whom the company offers up to twelve trainee positions each year, in addition to other apprenticeships.

With the investment amounting to several million euros, Salzgitter and Ilsenburger Grobblech are jointly underlining the importance of sustainable training with career perspectives in the group, Kallanish understands.

The construction of the centre was funded by the federal and state governments, which Salzgitter highlights as a joint signal from politics and business for the future viability of the Ilsenburg as an industrial location.

The official inauguration of the new building was held last Friday in the presence of the premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze.

“Particularly in view of the demographic change in Germany, investing in the training of future skilled personnel is of outstanding importance for the business location,” Schulze stated.

The Italian government is contributing to the funding of the Metinvest and Danieli’s planned green steel coil mill in Piombino, Tuscany, through state financial entity Invitalia. The approved support amounts to €285 million ($331.5m), earmarked for the construction of electric furnaces and related production infrastructure.

“This is a decisive step towards the relaunch of the Piombino steel hub and the creation of a modern, competitive and sustainable steel supply chain,” minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMT) Adolfo Urso says in a note obtained by Kallanish. “We are talking about one of the most important industrial investments in Europe, capable of combining innovation, environmental sustainability and skilled employment. The government is firmly supporting this strategic path, accompanying the development of the necessary infrastructure and accelerating the measures essential for the full reindustrialisation of the territory.”

The total investment for new project, overseen by Metinvest Adria, the joint venture between Metinvest and Danieli, will stand at about €3.2 billion. According to MIMT the project is in line with European decarbonisation targets and the ecological transition objectives for heavy industry, and it will be responsible for the significant relaunch of the Piombino area.

“The project has been further strengthened by a declaration of pre-eminent national strategic interest approved by the Council of Ministers, which also provides for the appointment of a special commissioner to accelerate its implementation.” Mimt continues.

Sources close to the matter say progress on the project was slowed by strong and public opposition from Italian steelmakers’ association Federacciai. One source, however, notes that all stakeholders, including central and local government, have been pushing for the project to happen. Together with Trasteel’s acquisition of service centre Magona in Piombino, the investment is seen as marking a revival of the area.

An additional €92m from MIMT has been allocated for the completion of the northern quay at Piombino port, a strategic infrastructure for the realisation of the Metinvest investment.

The new coil mill, known as the Adria project, has been ranked among the five foreign direct investments (FDI) with the highest impact potential in Europe, according to a project tracking database. This follows its recognition as a project of national strategic interest by the Italian government last year. It will have a production capacity of 2.7 million tonnes/year of hot-rolled steel with significantly reduced CO2 emissions (see Kallanish passim).

Metinvest was not available to comment before press deadline.

Kloeckner Metals Germany has started operating a new roller levelling machine at its service centre in Kassel-Kaufungen, Kallanish hears from the distribution group.

The new facility enables high-precision correction of flatness of sheets in thicknesses from 2 millimetres to 45mm, a width of 2,000mm, and a length of 6,000mm. The roller-leveller is complemented with a flatness measuring system, to allow for repeatable results at minimum tolerances, the company says.

Along with the new facility, the company announces a TL certification for cold-forming by the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr).

The Kassel-Kaufungen location specialises in high-strength, wear-resistant and ballistic steels, and is one of the most modern-equipped sites of the group. Together with the houses in Bremen, Velten, Landsberg, Cologne and Duisburg, it forms a network of production systems for processing, the company notes.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with HBIS Group chairman Liu Jian in Beijing last week, with Vucic reaffirming his support for joint projects in green energy and low-carbon production, Kallanish learns from media reports.

Vucic noted that the modernisation of the Smederevo steel plant, acquired by HBIS in 2016, has benefited the Serbian economy and strengthened cooperation between the two countries. He pledged further support for environmental initiatives at the plant, according to China Daily.

Liu Jian, in turn, thanked the Serbian side for its continued support and stated that the HBIS Serbia project will continue to develop with a focus on green technologies and production modernisation.

The two sides acknowledged the progress of the Chinese-Serbian joint laboratory on green steel, established as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and operating jointly with the University of Belgrade. It has already achieved results in hydrogen metallurgy, including processing ore into direct-reduced iron (DRI) with 99.74% efficiency, as well as developing high-strength steels for the automotive industry, the media report noted.

In January, Serbia introduced a six-month quota scheme for imports of certain steel products. The country has passed new laws on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon-intensive import taxes, which came into force from 1 January. Both levies will be at a rate of €4/tonne ($4.66/t) of CO2 equivalent.

This is the country’s answer to and equivalent of the European Union’s recently implemented Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The proposal of the commission to increase tariffs on imported steel will directly impact the Chinese-owned steel plant in the country – HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel.

HBIS can produce about 2.2 million t/year of steel with its two furnaces, while No.1 alone has a capacity of about 900,000t/y. Its product range comprises hot and cold rolled coil, pickled coil and electrolytic tinplate.

Serbia’s production of crude steel was down 23.7% year-on-year at 388,200t in January-April, according to wordlsteel data.

Production activity at Germany’s steel and metals fabricators has not nudged upward this year so far, although January and February was on par with the corresponding 2025 months, says their association WSM.

The initially flat activity year-on-year was a bit of a relief, given that the industry saw four years of recession. But then March was down 5.6% on last year’s corresponding month. The first quarter in total saw an on-year dip of 2.3%. That downward twist should at least be partly attributed to the conflict in the Middle East, the association explains.

Figures were more promising for the order intake, which in Q1 rose by 1.6%, and most recently in March was up a noteworthy 6.7%. While this contradicts the explanation for the drop of production, the Middle East conflict so far has caused mainly supply bottlenecks for production, and not necessarily discouraged orders, chief economist Holger Ade tells Kallanish.

The increase of orders is not necessarily a signal for sustained optimism, he notes. According to a sentiment survey, April did see some more positive sentiment for businesses than the preceding month, and was the first month-on-month return of optimism since September. This is backed by a better utilisation of capacities, up by 3 percentage points to 75%.

But then, the outlook for the coming six months has become slightly bleaker than in the previous survey. Ade attributes that apparent contradiction to a concern about profitability. Although businesses enjoy some recovery in orders and utilisation, they are worried about rising production costs, he says.

Polish domestic wire rod prices remained steady in the week to Friday May 29, while rebar prices widened, with slow market activity due to weak demand.

Market participants reported reduced activity, with fewer offers and indications heard during the week due to the holiday season in Europe.

“Demand is rather average; worse than last week,” one distributor source told Fastmarkets.

The tradable price for wire rod was said to be around 3,000-3,050 zloty ($828-841) per tonne delivered.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland, was 3,000-3,100 zloty per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.

In contrast, rebar prices widened over the same period.

Tradable prices were reported within the range of 2,830-2,950 zloty per tonne CPT, compared with 2,850-2,900 zloty per tonne CPT on May 22.

Market participants said that higher offers of 2,950 zloty per tonne had been heard, although trading at those prices was limited.

“There is low demand and high inventories,” a seller source told Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Poland, widened to 2,830-2,950 zloty per tonne on Friday, from 2,850-2,900 zloty per tonne the previous week.

Domestic spot prices for steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe remained stable in the week to 29 May due to a slow market, but EU steelmakers have increased their target prices for the second half of the year for long-term contracts.

A major steel producer has been aiming for a EUR80/t rise in long-term contracts. Market sources reported an increase in offers by EUR50-120/t for July-December agreements with end consumers, depending on the buyer, seller, and previous contract prices. The long-term prices are likely to increase, though they may not reach mills’ targeted prices. Some market participants expressed concerns that steel consumption by end users, particularly carmakers, could decrease due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and lower car sales in the region and globally.

The offer rise was not reflected in the spot market, where steelmakers kept prices stable to fill their production lines for summer, a period traditionally characterized by low market activity. Some steelmakers made attempts to offer third-quarter HRC at EUR730-750/t delivered, but they were quick to adjust the offers down to below EUR700/t ex-works in an attempt to attract buyers.

In Northwest Europe, domestic HRC prices were around EUR680/t ex-works.

In Italy, domestic prices have settled at EUR680/t delivered, equivalent to EUR665-675/t ex-works.

Activity remained muted due to a combination of high distributor stocks, declining prices for processed steel coil, and a lack of clarity regarding the new import quotas.

“The European flat steel market is in a temporary deadlock. Spot activity is quiet due to slowing automotive and industrial demand. While domestic mills are using upcoming import restrictions to aggressively push for higher prices on paper, buyers are successfully resisting by drawing down existing warehouse stocks,” a Northwest European distributor said.

The sentiment was echoed by an Italian trader: “It is impossible to buy new rolling coil with the current prices for cut material. Everyone has no choice but to consume material from stock and wait for a price recovery across the supply chain.”

This gives some hope to market sources that trading activity is likely to pick up when stocks decline.

New, tightened steel import quotas are due to take effect from 1 July and, while the general framework is clear — promising an overall quota reduction of 47% and a doubling of duties to 50% — no decision has been announced regarding allocations to country-specific quotas.

Market participants have mixed expectations regarding the impact of the import restrictions. The number of import offers has remained limited in May as exporters are uncertain about which volumes they could sell to the EU risk-free. An announcement on quota volumes is expected to support a revival in trading activity, with buyers booking what they can from overseas and sourcing the remaining volumes from domestic suppliers. Sources have different views on the scale of the impact the new quotas might have, with some suggesting that imports would return from countries able to offer competitive prices, while others believe that the regulations would force more purchases from EU mills and drive prices up.

Offers of HRC from Turkey have been reported at EUR600/t CIF Italy, but interest in the material has been low as exporters had already sold substantial volumes to the EU and the risks of exceeding the quotas were high.

Material from Asia and Algeria has been available at EUR720-750/t DDP South European ports.

Domestic coil prices are expected to remain stable in the short term, and mills will attempt to push offers up for the third quarter using the new regulations as leverage. Buyers largely agree that a price decline is unlikely, but the prospect of a rise was questioned by some sources due to the unlikely recovery of real demand this year.

Green steel

Spot demand for green steel remains muted as distributors prefer to avoid risks related to putting premium material in stock without having a particular customer in mind. End users, particularly the automotive and construction segments, remain the driving force behind low-CO2 steel consumption.

The end users, however, were reportedly showing less interest in mass-balanced material in favour of steel with lower embedded emissions.

Official offered premiums from trial plants remained close to EUR300/t, and some end users accepted them earlier as they were able to dilute the additional costs in the total cost of a product. Steelmakers, however, were more open to reviewing those premiums down to around EUR200/t to secure contracts.

Buyers estimated workable premiums at EUR80-150/t.

Weekly European steel coil
EUR/t	Term	29-May-26	Change
Weekly Northwest Europe steel coil
Northwest Europe ex-works HRC	EX-WORKS	680.00	0.00
Northwest Europe ex-works CRC	EX-WORKS	790.00	-5.00
Northwest Europe ex-works HDG	EX-WORKS	800.00	-10.00
Northwest Europe CIF HRC	CIF	620.00	0.00
Northwest Europe DDP port HRC	DDP Port	695.00	-25.00
Show more…
Source: McCloskey by OPIS.		© 2026 Dow Jones Energy Limited.

Weekly green steel
EUR/t	Term	29-May-26	Change
Green Northwest Europe HRC premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 0.8t)		90.00	0.00
Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-3)	EX-WORKS	770.00	0.00
Green HRC premium (scopes 1-2 CO2 under 0.5t)		90.00	0.00
Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-2)	EX-WORKS	770.00	0.00
Green HRC reduced carbon price (scopes 1-3)		69.99	5.67

 

Author: Benjamin Steven and Maria Tanatar

opisnet.com

Italian heavy plate prices declined in the week to 29 May as the impact of weak demand offset the effects of high slab costs.

In Italy, deals for S235JR/S275JR-grade heavy plate have been settled at EUR730-750/t ex-works. The number of transactions has not been high enough to secure order books for summer, and market participants anticipate longer maintenance shutdowns in July-August.

Several sources noted that prices of EUR730/t ex-works are already at breakeven with production costs, taking into account the latest transactions for imported slab settled at $590-600/t CIF Italy.

Some Chinese steelmakers have pushed slab offers to $630/t CIF Italy this week, citing rising raw material costs. The new prices were not accepted by EU buyers.

The introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) adds costs and risks for European re-rollers that traditionally rely on imported semi-finished material. Market sources estimated CBAM duties for Asia-origin slab at EUR50-80/t. However, until exporters secure the required verification — which will take place in 2027 for imports customs-cleared in 2026 — European importers face the risk that duties will be calculated using default values, potentially leading to significantly higher costs.

In Germany, demand also remained muted, with sources citing delays to some wind power projects, which did not improve sentiment. German mills, however, remained firm in their prices, offering heavy plate at EUR820-850/t ex-works.

While the defence industry has been showing healthy demand for heavy plate, competition for these sales has been strong, and the volumes have not been sufficient to change the market trend.

Weekly European heavy plate, slab and green steel
	Unit	Term	29-May-26	Change
Weekly heavy plate
Northwest Europe ex-works heavy plate	EUR/t	EX-WORKS	815.00	15.00
Germany delivered heavy plate (Northwest Europe)	EUR/t	DEL	840.00	0.00
Italy ex-works heavy plate	EUR/t	EX-WORKS	740.00	-10.00
Weekly steel slab
Italy CFR slab	$/t	CFR	595.00	0.00
Weekly green steel
Green heavy plate premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 1t)	EUR/t		25.00	0.00

 

Domestic steel hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe and Italy rose on Friday May 29, while trading remained largely muted. But market sources that Fastmarkets spoke to indicated wider ranges for workable prices.

In Northern Europe, a mill source reported an indication of €680-700 ($791-814) per tonne ex-works during the day, while buyers indicated varying workable prices within the range of €670-705 per tonne ex-works.

“There are higher and lower numbers based on the mill and the buyer,” a buyer said on Friday.

Sources mentioned the increase in new offers from leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal that was announced during the week and which reached as high €80 per tonne, but noted that were still waiting to see the market reaction to the higher offer levels.

“Arcelor had showed its intention to get higher numbers,” a mill source said on Friday, adding that they were curious to see how the increase is received by the market.

According to a second buyer, the increase in offers from the leading producer was dependent on the size of the order, with a smaller increase expected for larger volumes, while smaller volumes saw a bigger increase.

The buyer also said upward movements in the market may be seen in September, but not before then.

Sources told Fastmarkets on May 28 they had enough HRC in stock until September, some until October, and there was no need for restock at the moment.

“[The] problem of the pricing is not the price itself, but the extremely low demand,” a third buyer said on Friday, adding that this would change only if European policy changes.

The third buyer said they did not expect better conditions in the market until Russia’s war with Ukraine ended, along with the conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €690.92 per tonne on Friday, up by €10.19 per tonne from €680.73 per tonne on Thursday.

The index was also up by €10.92 per tonne week on week but down by €18.81 per tonne month on month.

In Italy, trading of HRC was also muted on Friday, with mill sources reporting indicative prices of around €670-690 per tonne ex-works and a bid at €660 per tonne ex-works.

Two buyers reported indications for local HRC prices in the range of €660-680 per tonne ex-works, while a third buyer said offers from Italian mills were at €670-690 per tonne ex-works.

According to one of the above buyers, mills were more aggressive pricewise in local sales, but less flexible for exports.

“Everybody waits for quotas information [country-specific allocations] – this can give a real direction for the domestic prices,” the source said on Friday.

New trade defence measures were expected to come into force on July 1, aimed at shielding the EU steel industry from global overproduction and unfair trade practices. The new measures included lower steel import quotas to the EU and higher out-of-quota duties.

“Mills are convinced that [HRC] prices will increase significantly in late third quarter and going forward, boosted by the imports shortage amid new trade regime, but it’s hard to say how much [of an increase] the market can actually absorb,” the a buyer said on Friday.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €671.67 per tonne on Friday, up by €1.25 per tonne from €670.42 per tonne on Thursday.

The index was down by €5.83 per tonne week on week and down by €27.33 per tonne month on month.

The latest import activity in Southern Europe included a large but unconfirmed HRC sale reported on Thursday from Indonesia to Spain around €590-600 per tonne CFR, without Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)-related costs.

A mill source on Friday said offers from Indonesia to Italy at $650-670 per tonne CFR were heard from different European customers, but no fresh deals were confirmed.

The newly signed Mexico-EU (EU) trade deal could signal a shift in steel trade toward the EU, but Mexican steelmakers will still prefer trade within North America, a steel producer told Fastmarkets.

Mexico and the EU signed the Modernized Global Agreement (MGA) and interim Trade Agreement (ITA) on May 22 to “strengthen political dialogue and cooperation,” according to a statement released by the EU. Mexico and the EU’s trade relationship currently totals €100 billion ($117 billion) in trade annually, the statement said.

“The modernization and signing of the EU-Mexico trade agreement is a positive development overall for the Mexican industrial and manufacturing sectors,” a Mexican producer source told Fastmarkets. “[Having] broader trade access and diversification opportunities is generally beneficial for long-term industrial growth.”

While the trade deal will open other avenues for Mexican steel, “[logistics], freight costs, lead times and existing regional integration within North America will continue to favor the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) market for many steel products,” the producer said.

Mexico has exported 451.55 tonnes of steel to the EU since the start of 2026, according to Mexico’s Steel Trade Monitor. Mexico mostly exports oil country tubular goods (OCTG) to the EU, sending 379.23 tonnes to the bloc this year, the trade data shows.

Mexico exported 160,000 tonnes to the US so far in 2026.

Meanwhile, Mexico has imported 95,200 tonnes of steel from the EU, consisting mostly of cold-rolled coil and galvanized sheet. Mexico has imported more than three times that amount from the US in 2026, according to the trade log.

“For the Mexican steel industry, having additional commercial alternatives and stronger trade relationships outside of North America can provide more flexibility and stability,” the producer said, “particularly during periods of market uncertainty or trade tension.”

The Mexican steel market has faced a wave of uncertainty and volatility since the reintroduction of Section 232 tariffs on steel, which US President Donald Trump reimplemented last year. Currently, Mexico is subject to a 50% levy on steel and a 25% levy on automobiles and auto parts. The tariffs led to a significant decrease in exports to the US, Mexico’s largest trading partner.

Despite the recently inked trade deal, “the US will remain Mexico’s most important steel and manufacturing partner by far due to the highly integrated supply chains between both countries,” the producer said. “The integration between Mexico and the US manufacturing sectors is extremely strong and difficult to replace.”

However, the EU is more “aggressive” compared with the US in finding alternative supply chains that avoid China, Jorge Guajardo, former Mexican ambassador to China, told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28. The EU deal with Mexico will enhance the Mexican-based steel supply chain “at a time when the EU is facing increased energy prices making it difficult to de-risk globally,” Guajardo said.

The US has averaged 34,304 tonnes of imported Chinese steel since the Section 232 tariffs went back into place on March 12, 2025, data from the US International Trade Administration (ITA) shows, representing a 16.3% decline in imports from China from the year before. Between March 12, 2024 and March 12, 2025, imports of Chinese steel averaged 40,987 tonnes.

Mexico has curbed its steel imports from China significantly since the country introduced a series of tariff measures against countries it lacks trade agreements with. Imports of Chinese steel totaled 909,000 tonnes in 2025, averaging 75,750 tonnes per month. Since the start of 2026, Mexico has imported 70,900 tonnes of Chinese steel, according to Mexico’s Steel Trade Monitor.

The Mexico-EU trade deal comes amid the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, which some steel industry members anticipate will result in multiple treaties between the countries.

Market participants also say that the tariff-free environment will not return between the three trading partners.

“Free trade — forget it; there will be tariffs,” Oscar del Cueto, American Chamber of Commerce Mexico (AmCham Mexico) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Mexico president, said during a May 5 conference.

The Mexico-EU trade deal should not threaten ongoing USMCA discussions, Guajardo said.

“I don’t think it affects the USMCA negotiations,” Guajardo said, “but it gives a first step in Mexico’s long journey into diversifying from the US market.”

The producer source agreed with the sentiment, stating that the deal does not amend Mexico’s position toward the US.

“I would not necessarily characterize this agreement as a move against the US,” the producer told Fastmarkets, “but rather as part of Mexico’s broader strategy to diversify trade relationships and strengthen global competitiveness.”

The deal will still allow Mexico to maintain “a very close economic relationship with the United States,” the producer said.

Fastmarkets’ latest calculation of the weekly steel hot-rolled coil index, delivered Monterrey, Mexico was 15,763.29 Mexican pesos ($910) per tonne on May 28, while the corresponding steel hot-rolled coil index, delivered Bajio, Mexico was 15,642.39 pesos per tonne.

Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), delivered Monterrey, Mexico was 16,200-16,900 pesos per tonne on Thursday. The corresponding assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), delivered Bajio, Mexico was 16,300-17,000 pesos per tonne on the same day.