Swedish steelmaker SSAB expects shipments to increase in the first quarter of 2026, compared with the previous quarter, driven by seasonal demand, according to its 2025 performance report released Jan. 28.
The company expects special steel shipments to be “significantly” higher quarter over quarter in Q1, with stable prices. SSAB Europe’s and SSAB Americas’s shipments are expected to be higher with prices “somewhat higher,” according to the company. Its special steels segment includes quenched, tempered and advanced high-strength steels.
For Q1, the company expects strong demand, particularly from the renewable energy sector in the EU and from the transmission and oil and gas sectors in the US.
SSAB estimates weak demand from the construction sector and uncertainty around automotive demand, the report said.
In Q4, production was relatively stable year over year and quarter over quarter, at 1.8 million metric tons of crude steel. Production was 7.54 million mt in 2025, compared with 7.35 million mt in 2024, according to the report.
Steel shipments were up 4% year over year and up 2.68% month over month to 1.51 million mt in Q4. Special steels were impacted by turbulence triggered by tariffs and trade barriers, but activity improved in the European market, according to SSAB.
Steel shipments in 2025 were 6.36 million mt in 2025, compared with 6.13 million mt in 2024.
SSAB’s push to green steel production continued in 2025, with investments made during the year executed according to plan, the company said.
Construction of a new electric arc furnace is underway at SSAB’s Oxelösund steel plant. The steelmaker also began building a high-efficiency mini-mill in its Luleå steel plant in the summer of 2025, with the production expected to start at the end of 2029.
The company underlined that SSAB’s transformation plan depends on the necessary infrastructure being in place on time, particularly regarding electricity supply, and there are currently pending appeals related to the power line to Oxelösund.
“Conversion involves the closure of the existing blast furnaces and coke plant. At the same time, most operations in Oxelösund, including the advanced rolling mill and unique Q&T lines that produce high-strength steel, will continue as before,” SSAB said in its report.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Northwest European hot-rolled coil carbon-accounted at Eur705/mt ex-works Ruhr Jan. 27, stable day over day. Platts assessed HRC in Northern Europe at Eur640/mt ex-works Ruhr and in Southern Europe at Eur630/mt ex-works Italy, both unchanged day over day.
