The Port of Antwerp-Bruges registered a notably strong inflow of steel in the second half of last year, while more recently imports have settled, Kallanish learns from the port authority.
The first half of 2025 was characterised by what the Port calls “a clear decline of transhipments (both ways, ingoing and outgoing) in the first six months (by 4.6%)”, for general cargo, which includes steel. Steel by itself saw an even more pronounced drop, by 11.7%, at the halfway point of the year. But then, handling picked up strongly in the third and especially the fourth quarter, meaning the annual drop slimmed to 1.7%, mainly because of lower exports, whereas imports rose by 6.7%.
The authority explicitly attributes that increase in the second half to the anticipation of stricter European trade measures against dumping and the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This backs the argumentation of many observers in the coil market, who reported a buying spree that has kept inventories filled even until now.
Steel imports from China went up by 22% in 2025 to 700,000 tonnes, making China the largest supplier. It is followed by India (680,000t, -9.2%), Turkey (513,000t, +121%) and Vietnam (490,000t, +13.3%). At the same time, exports remained under pressure, falling by 13.9%, due to weaker exports to the USA (-7.8%) and Mexico (-25.1%).
