Program agreement signed to revitalize Piombino steel hub in Italy
During the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Rome, a program agreement was officially signed to support the revitalization of the Piombino steelmaking hub in Tuscany. The initiative, led by a public-private partnership, represents a key step toward the reindustrialization of the area and the economic regeneration of the local community.
The agreement was signed by Metinvest Adria – a joint venture between Ukraine’s Metinvest Group and Italy’s Danieli Group – together with the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Piombino, and other local institutions.
The project includes the construction of a next-generation steel plant in Piombino, with a total investment of approximately €2.5 billion, of which €1.5 billion will be allocated to cutting-edge technology supplied by Danieli. The agreement also provides for a development agreement with MIMIT, supported by a SACE guarantee (SACE is Italy’s export credit agency), which will be activated upon approval by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
According to Metinvest Adria, the plan will create approximately 1,100 stable jobs, including both direct and indirect employment. The agreement is part of a broader roadmap that has already included the signing of a union agreement with relevant trade organizations.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the formalization of this program agreement marks a natural continuation of the process started with the establishment of Metinvest Adria and the subsequent development agreement signed by JSW Italy for the modernization of the existing rail production mill. The signing confirms the shared goal of transforming Piombino into a strategic European hub for green steel production.
“This is not just an industrial project,” stated Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group, “but a concrete example of reconstruction and international cooperation between Italy and Ukraine.”
The Piombino site is thus positioned to become a European reference point for low-emission steelmaking, leveraging state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable technologies, while also strengthening strategic ties between the two countries.
Italian coil derivatives slide amid weak market sentiment
Prices for Italian coil derivatives continue to decline, with sheet values down by €30–40/tonne ($34-46) compared to May, mirroring similar drops in welded tube prices, according to sources at distribution and service centres.
No upward price adjustments are currently anticipated, as the market remains in a broad downturn driven by falling coil prices both within Europe and for import. The continued decline is affecting the entire value chain, from raw materials to finished steel products. A major distributor voices concern over the persistent erosion of prices, noting the devaluation of inventories. Despite this, he emphasises the need for distributors to maintain sufficient stock levels and continue purchasing in small weekly volumes. Another distributor adds: “Our clients are aware that prices are falling and are holding off purchases, waiting to reach the bottom.”
Sales activity is expected to remain sluggish throughout the week, with little improvement projected until coil prices stabilise. Meanwhile, high processing costs and fierce competition are severely compressing margins at service centres, which some sources describe as virtually non-existent, Kallanish notes.
Hot rolled sheet prices have declined to €660-670/t delivered, while pickled material is now quoted at €690/t delivered, according to multiple sources. A major buyer of tubes and sheets reports a sharp decline in tube prices, citing a rise in commercial discounts from 37–38 points last month to 42–43 points currently. Larger buyers are reportedly securing even steeper discounts. According to a steel purchasing group, the market is nearing a bottom for hot rolled coil prices, with €530-550/t ex-works for European-origin material considered a potential floor. This level may consolidate next month, coinciding with an expected return of buying interest. Following the typical summer slowdown across EU markets, coil prices are forecast to rebound around September due to CBAM, which could lift both coil and derivative product prices.
Tube demand has weakened, reflecting the broader industrial downturn. However, sources note that demand was relatively healthy prior to the recent price correction in coils. Despite softer input costs, margins for re-rollers remain under pressure, squeezed by competitive pricing, weak end-user demand and expectations of heavy duties on their import purchases.
Looking ahead, July consumption for coil derivatives is expected to stay subdued, with distributors reporting medium-to-low stock levels, sufficient to meet the current reduced demand but limiting any near-term restocking activity.
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Italy reaches strategic agreement to relaunch green steel production in Piombino
All parties have reached an agreement on a strategic framework to relaunch the steelmaking hub in Piombino, Tuscany, Italy.
The agreement, the result of extensive discussions between the Italian ministry of enterprises and made in Italy, local authorities, the Italian State Property Agency, and the Piombino port authority, represents a key step in the country’s national plan for sustainable steel production.
The deal builds on the process launched on February 19 this year with the signing of a shareholders’ agreement between Ukrainian steel producer Metinvest and Italian plantmaker Danieli, establishing the joint venture Metinvest Adria S.p.A. to build a new low-emission steel plant in Piombino. It also follows the development agreement signed with JSW Italy, a subsidiary of India’s JSW Group, on April 18 for the modernization of the site’s rail production line.
“This agreement is the result of teamwork,” said Adolfo Urso, minister of enterprises and made in Italy, highlighting the importance of coordinated efforts among government, local institutions, and industrial partners. “Today we are looking at the opportunity to create in Piombino one of the most strategic green technology sites in both Italy and Europe,” he added, recalling the critical state of the site two years ago.
Luca Villa, CEO of Metinvest Adria, described the deal as “another concrete step” toward establishing a sustainable and competitive production facility that will serve the broader European steel supply chain. Marco Lerz, head of project finance at Danieli Group, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge green technologies to the site, with a strong focus on efficiency and minimal environmental impact.
The framework agreement will now be presented to trade unions before the formal signing. The overall goal is to transform Piombino into a key European hub for low-emission steelmaking.
Pittini invests in new rebar rolling mill in Verona
Italy-based long steel producer Pittini has announced that it has invested in a new rebar rolling mill to be built at its Verona plant. The mill in question is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
According to the producer, the new production line, designed to produce rebars for the construction industry, will feature advanced technological solutions focused on energy efficiency, process optimization and environmental sustainability. The new mill is a strategic investment that will further strengthen the production capacity of Pittini and consolidate its competitiveness in the Italian and central European markets.
The producer also unveiled its warehouse project in Sicily, aimed at optimizing logistics and improving the distribution of products along the northern and southern parts of Europe.
Assofermet urges EU to support steel consumption and entire value chain
Assofermet, the association representing Italian distributors of scrap, raw materials, and steel products has welcomed the European Union’s Action Plan on Steel and Metals, viewing it as an important signal in support of strategic industries. However, in a statement released this week, the association criticized the document for its lack of concreteness and detail, deeming it insufficient to resolve the deep crisis affecting the European steel industry, the primary cause of which is identified as the drastic decline in domestic steel demand.
According to Assofermet, the current plan focuses excessively on production, while entirely neglecting the downstream supply chain – comprising trade, distribution, processing, and end-use of steel – which constitutes the most extensive and strategic part of the industry. The entire European manufacturing sector, which heavily relies on steel, is now severely weakened by offshoring to third countries and by foreign competition, both in terms of price and quality, Assofermet said.
The transition of the sector toward decarbonization is recognized as necessary, but it must be accompanied by effective and immediate measures, the association argues. Assofermet highlights that companies in the supply chain, often SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), played a crucial role in ensuring steel supply during the post-Covid crisis, compensating for domestic shortages through imports from non-EU countries.
Assofermet therefore proposes a series of economic and fiscal measures to stimulate domestic steel demand and strengthen the entire industrial value chain, with the goal of preventing further declines in production and employment. These include:
- Tax credits for replacing obsolete machinery and equipment with new ones that have a high steel content.
- Non-repayable grants and low-interest loans for investments in plants and equipment by SMEs.
- Capital, operating, plant and interest subsidies to support the activities of businesses involved in steel usage.
Additionally, Assofermet calls for:
- The introduction of targeted tax incentives and a reduced VAT rate for products with a high content of steel produced in the EU.
- The inclusion of clauses in public procurement tenders that favor the use of EU-origin steel.
- The extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to certain finished products with high steel content.
- Protective trade measures against imports of steel-intensive goods from third countries.
Assofermet also considers it essential to implement a three-year emergency economic plan to revive European manufacturing and structurally stimulate steel consumption, in line with the EU budget resource use guidelines proposed by Mario Draghi.
The association identifies several priority sectors to be relaunched in order to boost demand: automotive, transport, construction, infrastructure, energy, mechanical engineering, home appliances, chemicals, and the food industry.
Finally, Assofermet warns that the current weakness in domestic demand, combined with shrinking distribution margins and excess production capacity, risks triggering a serious slowdown in EU manufacturing, transforming companies into mere importers and sparking a new wave of industrial offshoring.
Hence, the association makes an urgent appeal for coordinated industrial policies capable of reactivating internal demand, strengthening competitiveness, and opening a new phase of economic expansion for the entire European steel supply chain.
Italian steel plate prices in limbo with insufficient demand
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was unchanged on Wednesday at €640-650 ($709-720) per tonne.
Tradeable prices for commodity-grade steel heavy plate in Italy have been “stuck” at €640-650 per tonne ex-works for some weeks, with market sources reporting tepid demand.
Some local re-rollers still had April production to sell, they added.
“We see mainly hand-to-mouth business these days. Business is slow,” a seller in Italy said.
For May-June rolling, some mills said that they were considering price increases by as much as €20-30 per tonne, citing higher costs of production, because no substantial improvement in demand was expected in the near future.
Some suppliers have already issued new offers at €680-700 per tonne ex-works, compared with €660-670 per tonne ex-works for March-April.
Industry sources, however, felt that such prices were too high for the spot market and were only possible for project business at the moment.
The only supportive factor for the market was limited import availability, while real demand remained slow, trade sources said.
Stronger trade measures would limit imports from third countries to the EU and support domestic prices in the longer run, they added.
Under the new safeguards that came into effect on April 1, there was a newly introduced cap per single country over the tariff rate quota (TRQ) volume initially available in each quarter, set at 20% for heavy plate.
This will affect steel plate imports falling under the “other countries” category. South Korea, Indonesia and India were the major heavy plate suppliers to the EU under that category, offering the most competitive prices, according to market participants in Europe.
“New import orders [of heavy plate] are few to Italy, that’s true. But there are sufficient stocks at ports, available at low prices and with short delivery times,” a buyer source said.
June-shipment heavy plate from Indonesia South Korea was offered to Italy at €580-590 per tonne CFR.
But market sources pointed out that, after the new safeguards were announced, South Korean suppliers limited their offers of commodity grades, focusing on premium plate deliveries for use in making wind-towers.
SSAB expands production at Italian service centre
SSAB Swedish Steel’s service centre in Ghedi, Italy, is set to expand its production of cut-to-length sheets in higher strength grades while also improving quality.
The steel producer is to upgrade its cut-to-length (CTL) line to start production of higher strength steels with the aim to respond to current and future market demand, Kallanish learns from the company.
The initiative will allow the service centre to provide cut-to-length sheets of enhanced strength grades from coils, including most hot-rolled strip Hardox abrasion-resistant steels and Strenx structural steels.
The current facility processes coils with yield strengths of 700MPa or lower. The works will elevate the capacity to 1350MPa with a thickness of 6.5mm, enabling the cutting of ultra-high strength SSAB coils to any desired length, resulting in enhanced surface quality and flatness.
“The upgraded capacity means SSAB will ship a greater range of steels to Italy as coils, which is faster and more efficient than shipping cut lengths in packaged bundles from Sweden,” a company note says.
It adds that the Ghedi facility, which has a 80,000t/year capacity, will also be better able to handle low-to-mid production volumes in higher strength grades for a variety of sheet lengths.
“The Ghedi cut-to-length (CTL) line can already handle coils as wide as 2050mm, assuring compatibility with SSAB’s future mini-mills, which will be able to produce coils up to 2-meters wide.”
According to FIMI Machinery, which will carry out the upgrade, Ghedi customers are going to notice immediate improvements in their cut steel sheets.
“With three new brushing machines connected to a filtration system, the scale (iron oxide) produced by the straightener and levellers will be extracted to protect workers, machinery, and the environment. There will be less imprints on the surface, which means improved surface quality. And due to better stress removal, the sheets will be flatter, which is key for SSAB Laser grades,” they said,
The upgrade for 2025 is planned to coincide with the centre’s standard maintenance window, which spans from July to September. The equipment is projected to be operational in autumn this year.
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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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Assofermet sees slight recovery in March long volumes
There have been signs of recovery in the volumes of merchant bars products and sections in recent weeks due to new construction projects commencing in March with the start of favourable weather conditions, Italian trade association Assofermet says in a market note seen by Kallanish.
Conversely, last month flat products experienced a modest downturn in both volumes and pricing.
“We are witnessing a market downstream that, due to global geopolitical tensions, is struggling to recover,” the note states.
It adds that in February, the automotive, household appliance and construction sectors recorded a sharp slowdown. However, in March there were timid signs of recovery, fuelled by the interest of several companies in covering their flat needs for the coming months with scheduled supplies.
“We look with great interest at the strategic dialogue on steel recently promoted by the EU Commission and we hope to be able to give our contribution as representatives of the pre-processing and distribution sectors on the national territory. We really hope that attention will also be focused on the problems of EU manufacturing, because without orders from it the steel industry is also destined to collapse,” Assofermet warns.
“Effective countermeasures to the ongoing industrial delocalisation must be adopted as soon as possible, with measures to stimulate demand, while slowing down the unbridled rush to green production, extending deadlines and reviewing programmes,” it adds.
In a recently released position paper on US president Donald Trump’s enhanced protectionist policies the association warned that the trade war could potentially lead to significant market distortions for Europe. The execution of US policies is expected to lead to an redirection of global steel exports to the European Union, potentially prompting the bloc to consider countermeasures aimed at Asian countries.
Assofermet proposes rethinking the existing EU protection mechanism and extending it downstream. Currently, Europe is focusing its defensive strategies solely on safeguarding the upstream segment of the supply chain.
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Italian plate prices mainly flat; imports from South Korea to take a major hit from new safeguards
Italy
In Italy, offers for S275 heavy plate were reported by buyers and sellers at €660-670 ($719-730) per tonne ex-works, stable week on week.
Transactions for such material were heard at lower levels of €640-650 per tonne ex-works. One supplier reported having sealed a deal for a minor tonnage at €660 per tonne ex-works.
The cost of import slab – the key feedstock for plate production – was stable at $500-530 per tonne CFR. But due to the US dollar depreciation against the euro, rerollers felt more “comfortable” maintaining heavy plate prices at €640-650 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was unchanged at €640-650 per tonne on Wednesday.
The US dollar was hovering around at $1.09 to €1 on Wednesday, compared with $1.04 to €1 a month earlier.
Trading in the spot market for heavy plate has picked up in March compared with the low levels observed in January and February, but overall traded volumes remained limited.
Sources expect no major price changes in the near term, they said.
Safeguards reaction
The market was digesting news about safeguard adjustments, which were made available on Tuesday March 11
While quota cuts for heavy plate were not as severe as expected (see table), there was a newly introduced cap per single country over the tariff rate quota (TRQ) volume initially available in each quarter, set at 20%.
This will affect steel plate imports falling under the ‘other countries’ category. Notably, South Korea, Indonesia and India are major heavy plate suppliers to the EU under that category, offering the most competitive prices, according to market participants in Europe.
For example, the total allowance for steel heavy plate deliveries from ‘other countries’ for 2025 is set around 2.2 million tonnes. That means that with the 20% cap, each individual country falling under “other countries” category cannot supply more than 440,000 tonnes per year of steel plate to Europe.
Major disruption from new safeguards was expected for South Korean suppliers.
Notably, in 2024, South Korea delivered around 800,839 tonnes of plate to the EU, according to Global Trade Tracker (GTT) statistics, which is double the new allocation volumes.
India supplied around 470,816 tonnes of plate to the bloc in 2024, while Indonesia supplied 430,693 tonnes.
The most recent deals for May-shipment plate from South Korea to Italy and Spain were done at €570-580 per tonne CFR in early March.
Fastmarkets weekly assessment for steel plate (8-40mm) import, cfr main port Southern Europe was at €570-580 per tonne on Wednesday, stable week on week.
Sources said the move to maintain the individual heavy plate quota for Ukraine was a “strange decision” considering that after the Russian invasion of the country in 2022, plate exports from Ukraine have almost vanished.
Ukraine’s key plate-producing assets were Metinvest’s Mariupol-based plants Azovstal and Ilyich Iron & Steel, but as a result of Russia’s invasion, Metinvest has lost control of both.
In 2024, total plate deliveries from Ukraine to Europe were practically zero, GTT statistics show.
“It’s a weird decision to keep individual plate quota for Ukraine, considering that plate-producing facilities have been destroyed by Russia. Those volumes could have been added to global [plate] quota,” one buyer in Italy said.
Besides, Ukrainian steel imports has been exempted from EU anti-dumping duties and safeguard measures since June 2022 with a further three-year exemption proposed by the European Commission on March 11, 2025.