Italian service centres report flats shortage, good demand

Some Italian flat product service centres are lamenting structurally short supply of coils, as well as some sheet grades and plate. Demand from end-users, however, is said to be strong. Two service centres say their first-quarter results will be better than last year.

The lack of reliable supply from main steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia is causing procurement headaches for buyers. “We used to buy most of our volumes from Taranto and small quantities from other steelmakers but Taranto can only guarantee a few grades, while import offers for coils, sheets and plate are uncompetitive,” a large service centre tells Kallanish.

Sources in the service centre segment report well-filled order books stretching over one month ahead and do not expect a flats consumption decline in Italy or abroad, mostly due to the coil shortages. Improving demand due to short supply is reported for sheets, for which asking prices are hovering at €900-920/tonne ($978-1,000) ex-works for hot rolled sheet, with lead times of April, and €960/t for galvanised grades.

Service centres see sheet, plate and coil prices remaining at high levels next month because of the shortages. However, those service centres that deal with a mix of sheets, tubes and longs continue to report subdued demand, particularly for tube and some longs such as rebar and merchant bar. One company selling flats and beams also reports improved financial results in Q1 compared to last year, as sections remain a product in relatively good demand with high prices.

Natalia Capra France