Spanish steel production slowed for a fourth consecutive month in February, falling 12% year on year to 969,000 mt, data from industry association Unesid showed April 25, as rising energy costs impacted production.
The volume of scrap recycled in the month also decreased 12% year on year to 772,000 mt, Unesid said.
Both figures are the lowest monthly totals, with the exception of the December holiday month, since August 2020.
Following an uptick in production for January through October 2021, production began to slow in November, with some producers halting early for the holiday season as energy prices continued to breach record highs. The metal sector is Spain consumes around 16% of all power supply.
Since the start of 2022, the high price scenario has continued and started to impact inflation. A number of steel producers have either halted units or adapted production to meet demand, while a transport workers strike during March and holidays in April continued to impact industrial activity.
The steel output slowdown is reflected in power demand figures from the iron and steel sector published by the grid operator Red Electrica de Espana which show an 18% year on year decline in power demand in February, widening to a 26% decline for March, which has contributed to an 11% overall slump for the industrial sector in the month.
Spain steel production, recycling volume to Feb
Month Steel production (million mt) YOY change (%) 12-month volume (million mt) Scrap recycling (million mt) YOY change (%) 12-month volume (million mt) Scrap:Steel proportion (%)
Feb-21 1.11 0 12.32 0.87 NA NA 79
Mar-21 1.32 14 12.53 1 NA NA 76
Apr-21 1.31 109 12.68 1.02 105 0.78 78
May-21 1.35 68 13.40 1.08 59 0.83 80
Jun-21 1.31 57 13.91 1.08 51 0.86 82
Jul-21 1.09 59 14.17 0.82 57 0.87 75
Aug-21 1.20 69 14.68 0.85 36 0.89 71
Sep-21 1.25 27 15.22 1.01 16 0.92 81
Oct-21 1.28 9 15.52 1.03 5 0.94 80
Nov-21 1.14 -3 15.48 0.92 -2 0.93 81
Dec-21 0.86 -4 15.17 0.60 -9 0.90 70
Jan-22 0.99 -6 15.26 0.70 -13 0.91 71
Feb-22 0.97 -12 15.18 0.77 -12 0.90 79
Source: Unesid
— Gianluca Baratti
