European steel service centres (SSCs) experienced a moderate rebound in shipments during the first nine months of 2025, according to the latest SSC market monitoring report by EUROMETAL.
Across the EU27, shipments of strip mill flat products increased by 0.5% year-on-year from January through September, Kallanish learns from the European steel distributors association. A notable growth occurred in September alone, which was up 11.1% y-o-y, signalling improving industrial activity, EUROMETAL says.
At the same time, EU27 SSC inventories fell by 6.2% compared with the 2024 nine-month period, reflecting cautious stock management despite strengthening demand.
EUROMETAL mentions a stronger performance in the region comprising Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium, where shipments rose 1.4% year-on-year in January-September and 10.8% in September alone. Stocks in this core industrial region were down 10.9% over the nine months, indicating sustained de-stocking across northern continental Europe, the association notes.
Rising shipments combined with disciplined stock levels indicate that European service centres are cautiously adapting to recovering demand, it concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany
