Spanish long product demand improves, outlook positive

The Iberian steel market saw an increase in rebar demand year-on-year in 2022, while light sections and commercial profile sales fell. The outlook for 2023 is for sector stability and sales “in line with last year’s levels”, José Andrés Salgado, Megasa’s sales manager for Spain and Portugal, said at this month’s Eurometal Steel Net Forum Iberia conference in Porto.

“With a price environment that is likely to be more reasonable, commercial activity should normalise both through prices and volume. 2023 should be similar in performance and operating margins to last year,” he commented at the event attended by Kallanish.

The construction sector is expected to continue to recover amid civil works projects, while house building should be in line with previous years. “The arrival of the busiest months heralds an acceleration in rebar consumption. In the short term, the market is seen as having larger order bookings, although activity is not as active as expected,” Salgado commented.

According to the Megasa sales director, the long product market is exposed to tensions in the scrap supply chain resulting from Turkey’s post-earthquake situation and growing demand from China. Meanwhile, the probable ending in May 2023 of the so-called Iberian mechanism, recognising Spain and Portugal as an energy island, implies a lack of protection for energy price levels in the region. Electricity is expected to continue to be a determining factor in steel production and prices.

Iberian rebar sales increased 0.5% y-o-y in 2022 to 2.09 million tonnes, according to Spain’s Tax Agency and Eurofer data. Spanish shipments represented almost 1.52mt, 0.6% less on-year, becoming the most consumed long product in the country. Meanwhile, Portugal’s rebar sales improved by 3.6% y-o-y to 570,000 tonnes.

In 2022, the Iberian region sold 705,000t of commercial profiles (-7.4% y-o-y) and 625,000t of sections (-4.7%), with Spain having an 81.2% share.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria