France’s metal industry output up 1.4 percent in Feb from Jan
France’s manufacturing output in February this year rose by 1.4 percent month on month, after declining by 0.5 percent in January this year, according to the statistics released by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).
In the December-February quarter, France’s manufacturing output declined by 1.9 percent year on year and by 0.7 percent quarter on quarter.
In the given month, France’s production in manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, was up by 1.4 compared to January, after decreasing by 2.2 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, in February production of France’s motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry grew by 1.8 percent on month-on-month basis after increasing by 7.2 percent on month-on-month basis in the previous month, while the output of the domestic construction industry grew by 1.6 percent month on month in the given month after going down by 3.7 percent in January compared to December. In the December-February quarter, output of the domestic construction industry was up by 0.9 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Italy, France, Slovakia seek to further simplify CBAM
Italy, France and Slovakia are urging the European Commission to simplify the Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) and resolve the administrative challenges that come with its implementation.
The complex structure of this system could cause delays and increases in management and operational costs for European businesses.
“A simplification of the regulatory framework is needed to provide operators with clearly defined and simplified technical rules. Basing the CBAM on pre-defined emission values for upstream and downstream sectors could significantly simplify reporting requirements,” says the AoB document requested by France, Italy and Slovakia and obtained by Kallanish.
The paper suggests an exemption for small importers and a thorough review of downstream carbon leakage as well as carbon leakage in exports. The CBAM regulation now applies to the six pilot sectors and 20 neighbouring downstream products. However more sectors and downstream products may be at risk of carbon leakage due to the phase-out of free EU ETS allowances.
CBAM should cover downstream sectors and goods at risk of carbon leakage by the end of the transition period. At present, it does not include any measures to avoid carbon leakage from exports.
The EC is to consider the extension of CBAM to indirect emissions under the condition that it does not compromise decarbonisation efforts and to consider the impact of the mechanism on the competitiveness of the EU industry.
“The Commission is required to submit a report by 2028 on the impact of the CBAM, notably on carbon leakage to exports, resource shuffling, and an evaluation of the overall application of the regulation. Such a report should be anticipated to the end of the transition period. It should propose, if necessary, appropriate and proportionate measures to prevent carbon leakages in support of exporting industries, by maintaining, among other measures, targeted free ETS allowances for exportations to ensure a level playing field,” the paper concludes.
Earlier this month the Commission published its Steel and Metals Action Plan confirming it would issue a legislative proposal for CBAM adjustments by year-end.
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ArcelorMittal denies accusations of industrial pollution at its Fos-sur-Mer site
The Marseille public prosecutor’s office indicted ArcelorMittal for endangering the lives of others, forgery, and environmental damage earlier this week, according to media reports.
The steelmaker has therefore been placed under judicial supervision, subject to a €250,000 ($268,525) deposit and €1.75 million bank guarantee, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement, quoted by French media outlets.
ArcelorMittal said in its statement that the company was cooperating fully with the authorities in charge of dealing with complaints filed by residents and environmental associations in relation to the Fos-sur-Mer site.
“ArcelorMittal has always been transparent in its contact with the authorities and has made every effort to ensure that the emissions from the Fos-sur-Mer site comply with the prescribed annual limit values. There was no falsification of data,” the steel manufacturer added.
According to its statement, ArcelorMittal has invested more than €735 million since 2014 to modernize its facilities and reduce emission levels. Thanks to these actions, the company has reduced its air emissions from the Fos-sur-Mer site by 70% compared to 2002.
ArcelorMittal said that it would not comment further on the indictment because the procedure was still ongoing, adding that the presumption of innocence and respect for the secrecy of the investigation should be considered.
The Fos-sur-Mer site has been facing problems with environmental organizations and residents since 2018, when a complaint against the plan was filed, according to media outlets.
ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer has two blast furnaces (BFs) with a total capacity for about 5 million tonnes per year of pig iron, market sources said. The site produces hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil.
ArcelorMittal modernizes its French assets
Earlier in March, ArcelorMittal announced that it planned further modernization of its two production plants in France – Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer. Due to the overhaul, one of the BFs at the Dunkirk site will be idled for 90 days in the second quarter of 2025.
Specifically for the Fos-sur-Mer site, the company is planning investment amounting to €18.3 million, which is intended to extend the life of BF1. But the production unit will restart operations no earlier than the first half of 2026, Fastmarkets understands. While BF2 will remain operational.
BF1 at Fos-sur-Mer has been idled since the third quarter of 2023.
Market overview
The stoppage of one BF at the Dunkirk site was expected to put additional pressure on the HRC prices in Europe, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Supply of domestic material in the region has already been limited by Salzgitter, who announced force majeure on HRC deliveries due to a fire at a hot strip mill late in February.
These circumstances, combined with the limited HRC imports due to the new safeguard measures of the European Commission, have supported a recovery in HRC prices in Northern Europe, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
“Production in Europe is at a quite low level now. There are a lot of problems with domestic mills. Customers often complain about delays with deliveries,” a distributor source based in Germany told Fastmarkets.
The distributor source added that mills were quite firm on their offers, advising customers to go to another mill if they did not like the offered price. “But there are not many other options where to go,” the source said.
Despite some small fluctuations, HRC prices in Northern Europe have been recovering gradually since the beginning of the year, reaching €645.00 per tonne on Wednesday, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, shows.
But the index averaged €608.04 per tonne in February remaining far below €738.28 per tonne – the average level reached in February 2024.
Fastmarkets’ sources expected that the recovery of the HRC prices would continue, although some were skeptical if the €700-per-tonne level would be reached.
Developer GravitHy closes Eur60 mil funding round for French ‘green’ steel plant
Hydrogen-based, direct-reduced iron project developer GravitHy has closed a Eur60 million funding round for its French “green” steel plant at Fos-Sur-Mer, the company said March 26, adding that it is targeting a final investment decision on the project in 2026.
The 2 million mt/year hot briquetted iron plant in Fos-Sur-Mer in the south of the country is set to start commercial production in 2029, after a commissioning phase and progressive pre-commercial ramp-up. The project has an overall estimated price tag of Eur2.2 billion.
GravitHy is also building an electrolyzer at the site, with a capacity of approximately 750 MW, to produce low-carbon hydrogen for the plant.
The latest funding round — which brought in a series of new investors, as well as additional investment from existing shareholders Engie New Ventures and InnoEnergy — will help the company to secure key contracts, as well as completing engineering work and obtaining permits, the company said.
“We are thrilled by the confidence our diverse investors have shown in GravitHy,” Chief Executive Jose Noldin said. “Collaboration is key to disrupting the steel value chain, and we are proud to welcome these incredible partners who share our vision, values, and development goals.”
The steel industry contributes around 8% of global carbon emissions and requires new technology, redesigned processes, and new infrastructure to decarbonize, industry sources say.
Platts assessed Northwest European hot-rolled coil at Eur700/mt ex-works Ruhr on March 25, down Eur5/mt on the day.
ArcelorMittal to idle Dunkirk BF for three months for major overhaul
The company plans to invest more than €270 million ($293 million) in its two primary steel production plants in France, at Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer, the company said in a statement seen by Fastmarkets.
The lion’s share of this investment, €254 million, will be at ArcelorMittal’s Dunkirk site. Major works will be carried out in the second quarter of 2025 on an iron ore sintering line, on blast furnace (BF) No4 and at one of the steel mill’s converters. During this time, BF4 will be idled for 90 days, but BF3 will remain operational.
There are three BFs at the Dunkirk site with combined capacity for about 6.9 million tonnes per year of pig iron. Only BFs Nos 3 and 4 have been operational recently, however. BF2, with capacity for 1.4 million tpy of pig iron, has been idled since June 2022, Fastmarkets understands. The site can produce 4.6 million tpy of hot-rolled coil.
“Logistics and supplies have been anticipated in order to limit the effect on downstream production facilities and to ensure continuity of service for customers,” the company statement read.
At ArcelorMittal’s Fos-sur-Mer site, the first phase of work on BF1 was about to get under way, the company said. The cost was estimated at €18.3 million to extend the life of this production unit. BF1 was scheduled for a restart no earlier than the first half of 2026. In the meantime, BF2 will remain operational.
BF1 at Fos-sur-Mer has been idled since the third quarter of 2023.
ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer has two BFs with total capacity for about 5 million tpy of pig iron, market sources said. The site produces hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil.
The company gave no comment at the time of publication on the potential production losses that would result from the idling of the Dunkirk BFs.
Industry sources said that this unexpected move by a market leader would give an additional boost to hot-rolled coil prices in Europe.
“The HRC price rebound we see now is mainly driven by the circumstances around [trade] safeguard [measures] and restocking, not by real demand. News of such a major interruption at ArcelorMittal will probably push [flat steel] prices higher,” a buyer source said.
“There is no [HRC] shortage yet,” the same source added, “but if HRC import quotas are cut significantly under new [European Union] safeguards, and if Arcelor[Mittal] idles one big furnace in France, I’m sure the market will feel the effects.”
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €631.88 per tonne on Monday, up by €0.50 per tonne from €631.38 per tonne on Friday.
The Northern European index was up by €3.96 per tonne week on week and by €33.13 per tonne month on month.
French steel prices increase in slow market
French steel prices have shown an upward trend since January with European producers currently implementing moderate increases of €5-15/tonne ($5.2-15.7/t), Kallanish notes.
The move comes amid US President Donald Trump’s renewed protectionist policies and the anticipation of a response from the European Commission regarding more stringent safeguard measures.
Price increases on products such as welded tubes, sheets, and beams have been accepted, while other proposed increases remain uncertain, with buyers often reluctant to accept them as they are unable to transfer them downstream.
Multiple production and distribution sources indicate that downstream demand is not showing signs of improvement. The forecast for the upcoming months appears bleak, particularly as sectors such as construction and automotive are either in recession or facing a significant downturn.
In France, beams have experienced an increase of approximately €15/t, attributed to the scarcity of material. The current pricing for the first category of beams is positioned between €770-790/t delivered.
Domestic merchant bar prices in France are flat month-on-month, maintaining a range of €240-250/t base delivered. The prevailing effective levels, including size extras, are set between €660-670/t delivered. Producers are indicating potential increases for new contracts. The current average price for rebar stands at €610/t delivered, sources suggest.
The product showing the highest increase is sheet, with prices elevated due to rising values of hot rolled coil, now reaching approximately €600-610/t delivered in France. The current pricing for hot rolled black sheet is between €670-680/t inclusive of delivery. Despite the increases, the market is perceived as relatively stagnant, characterised by limited-volume sales.
While ArcelorMittal is reduces its investments in France and the rest of Europe due to the steel sector’s slump, recession is hitting the French construction industry. The crisis worsened in 2024, especially in the private residential sector, which was undermined by reduced new construction and the non-residential sector, French construction federation Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB) says in a report.
“After an erosion of activity in 2023 (-0.9%), the construction sector entered full recession in 2024,” FFB comments.
The industry, encompassing all segments, experienced a 6.6% decrease in volume last year. The number of building site openings for new construction saw a significant decline of 14.2%, following a substantial decrease of 24.9% in 2023, resulting in a historic low of 253,000 units.
FFB notes such levels have not been seen since 1954.
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Italy and France to back overhaul of CBAM to boost EU competitiveness
Italy and France underscored the need for the European Commission to reassess the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to bolster the competitiveness of European industries amid the ongoing challenges of decarbonization.
Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, met with France’s Minister of Industry and Energy, Marc Ferracci, on Feb. 11, where they both called for the inclusion of CBAM as a key agenda item at the forthcoming EU Competitiveness Council meeting on March 6.
“We cannot allow strategic European sectors, such as steel and chemicals, which are essential for our industrial autonomy and for the economic stability of the continent, to be penalized by a system that does not take into account the real conditions of global competitiveness,” said Urso in a statement.
This comes as there has been a growing call among policymakers, politicians, and industry leaders to simplify the EU’s carbon border tax as the Commission tries to balance industrial growth with environmental goals.
“The geopolitical context requires Europe not to depend on external actors for essential materials and technologies. It is therefore crucial to correct the CBAM so that it is a truly effective tool, capable of protecting European industrial production and at the same time encouraging a sustainable transition in practice, not just in principle,” added Urso.
Streamlining CBAM
On Feb. 6, EU Commissioner for Climate, Net-Zero, and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, admitted that his team is considering excluding around 80% of EU companies from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to reduce their administrative and bureaucratic workload.
Hoekstra stated that almost 97% of all emissions covered by CBAM are produced by only 20% of companies, highlighting the need for some flexibility in implementing this carbon border levy.
CBAM is a carbon tax on emission-intensive commodities exported to the EU, currently covering the cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizer, electricity, and hydrogen sectors. The levy is designed to reflect the difference between EU carbon prices and carbon costs in exporting countries.
With the definitive phase of the EU’s CBAM set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2026, importers of carbon-intensive goods will face levies based on the emissions associated with their imports.
Under the transitional phase of CBAM, which started on Oct. 31, 2023, traders must only report on emissions embedded in their imports without paying any financial adjustment. However, this mechanism will be phased in from 2026 to 2034, in line with the phasing out of free allowances in the EU ETS.
The decline in industrial and manufacturing output contributed to a reduction in the European carbon price last year. However, prices have rebounded significantly in early 2025. The suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine has led to higher coal power generation, pushing up demand for carbon permits.
EU Allowances averaged Eur66/mtCO2e ($68.13/mtCO2e) in 2024, down more than 20% year over year, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.
Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed EUAs for December 2025 delivery at Eur82.41/mtCO2e on Feb. 11.
FFB: Recession hits French construction, outlook remains gloomy
The crisis in the French construction industry worsened in 2024, especially in the private residential sector, which was undermined by reduced new construction and the non-residential sector, French construction federation Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB) says in a report obtained by Kallanish.
“After an erosion of activity in 2023 (-0.9%), the construction sector entered full recession in 2024,” FFB comments. The industry, encompassing all segments, experienced a 6.6% decrease in volume last year. The number of building site openings for new construction saw a significant decline of 14.2%, following a substantial decrease of 24.9% in 2023, resulting in a historic low of 253,000 units. “You have to go back to 1954 to find such a level!” FFB exclaims.
The construction of new individual houses experienced a significant decline by 23.7%, resulting in fewer than 100,000 units. Overall, new housing activity plunged 21.9% in 2024. The production of new non-residential buildings also endured a year-on-year decline of 7.4%, with all segments reflecting a notable decrease, except for public buildings, which remained stable.
The outlook for 2025 appears gloomy, with a projected contraction of 5.6% in volume, primarily driven by challenges in new construction activities. Expected new housing activity is projected to decline by 14.2% in 2025, leading to a new low in construction site openings at 239,000 units.
Despite an anticipated macro-financial climate improvement, FFB predicts a 15% decline in individual home sales and a 30% decline in developer sales to individuals. Activity in new non-residential properties is also expected to drop by 15% in 2025, influenced by general uncertainty and unappealing credit conditions.
The French long steel market’s performance remains unimpressive as the construction industry continues to perform poorly. French long steel prices have remained stable since the beginning of January; however, there is a noticeable absence of large-volume sales, and the upward price attempts from some mills are lacking momentum.
A source within a purchasing group indicates the outlook for the first half remains pessimistic. He suggests ongoing financial difficulties faced by multiple service centres and distributors, alongside persistent margin compression.
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European sites at risk of closure, according to former EUROMETAL President
“All European steel plants are at risk” of closure by 2025 if nothing is done to protect the European steel industry, ArcelorMittal France chairman Alain Le Grix de la Salle told a parliamentary hearing in Paris on Wednesday.
“The steel industry in Europe is in crisis… I cannot today make the slightest commitment… The sites, as they are, are all at risk in Europe, and therefore in France too,” declared the head of the company before the French National Assembly’s economic affairs committee, in response to an MP who asked him if he could make a commitment that no other ArcelorMittal plant would be closed in France by 2025.
“The steel industry in Europe, and therefore in France, has entered a major and serious crisis. Global overcapacity is a structural phenomenon that is here to stay. These overcapacities currently represent 550m to 600m tonnes of annual production, i.e., four to five times Europe’s production,” he told Agence France Presse. “China alone exported 100m to 120m tonnes last year. That’s the equivalent of all European consumption,” he added.
“The United States is doing everything it can to protect its industry. That leaves Europe. Steel travels. We are not against imports. We are asking that they be limited and that they not have a devastating effect on our industries, as is currently the case. We are asking for fair conditions of competition, particularly with regard to the cost of CO2,” he added. “If Europe does not decide to protect its market from unfair competition, whole swathes of our industry will disappear in the very near future. This is not doom and gloom, it is, unfortunately, pure and simple reality.”
“The list of major restructurings and closures in Europe is growing,” he warned, citing in particular the German group Thyssenkrupp, ArcelorMittal’s competitor, which plans to cut “11,000 jobs by 2030, i.e., 40% of its workforce.” ArcelorMittal suspended its decarbonisation investment plans in Europe at the end of 2024.
ArcelorMittal to close two more French distribution centres
ArcelorMittal’s Distributions Solutions France confirms to Kallanish the permanent closure of two additional distribution hubs located in Strasbourg and Valence, eastern France.
The steelmaker has communicated to its employees and labour unions a strategy to restructure and reorganise its operations in light of the ongoing crisis.
“The difficult economic climate in the steel markets is weighing on its customers’ sectors of activity, particularly in local distribution for building, mechanical engineering, and general industry. This translates into a significant and lasting drop in volumes, of around 19% between 2019 and 2024, which is affecting the company’s results,” an ArcelorMittal Distributions Solutions France note explains.
The firm plans to redeploy the Valence and Strasbourg sites’ activities to neighbouring branches. The move could cut up to 28 jobs on the one hand, and create 15 on the other. Management is continuing the information-consultation process with employee representatives, with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
ArcelorMittal’s French service centre division – CSE – announced last month the closure of the Reims and Denain flat products service centres in northern France. Reims and Denain will lay off a total of 135 workers, including 113 in Reims, 21 in Denain and one in Ottmarsheim. However, the steelmaker reports the creation of 19 jobs at other sites as the closures of the two facilities will sustain activity at other production sites.
Meanwhile, the steelmaker is pausing decarbonisation investments at its Dunkirk facility in northern France due to the downturn in the global steel industry “We are operating in a difficult market, and there are a number of policy uncertainties that are impacting the industry. We need an effective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as well as more robust trade defence measures, to strengthen the business case,” a company spokesperson said last month.
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