Steel shipments from the EU 27+ UK flat steel service centers rose 2.8% year on year in first three months of 2021, the EUROMETAL steel stockholders and distributors association said June 2.
EU multi-product & proximity steel stockholding distribution, mainly long products, were down 0.2%.
Flat products shipments in March rose 21.7%, on the year and were down 17% from February.
The March 2021 index of stocks volumes dropped to 83 from 91 in March 2020, as the pandemic had not yet hit year-ago month volumes. Stocks at EU steel service centers reached 57 days in March 2021, compared to 76 days in March 2020, EUROMETAL said
Demand for flat products in Europe have risen since end-2020, with prices climbing Eur665/mt to a record high Eur1,140/mt base ex-works Ruhr in June.
EU Multi-Product & Proximity Steel Stockholding Distribution
In the first three months of 2021, EU27+ UK Multi-Product & Proximity Steel Stockholding Distribution registered lower shipments for all long products and higher shipments for flat mill products, tubular and stainless steel products.
In March, “total steel products” shipments increased year on year by 8.6%. Only rebar saw a negative trend, as the first three months of the year are typically not strong due to its use in seasonal construction.
Stock volumes index of EU27+ UK Multi-Product & Proximity Steel Stockholding Distribution registered at 76 in March, down from 84 in the year-ago month (average 2018 = Index 100).
Stock volumes in March saw 54 days of shipments, compared with 65 days in March 2020.
— Annalisa Villa
