Italy is a regular buyer of slab, particularly for plate production. In 2020 the country imported 2.4 million tonnes of slab, of which 82% originated from Ukraine, with the remainder mainly from Russia, according to International Steel Statistic Bureau (ISSB).
For this reason, Fastmarkets did not have a separate assessment for the Italian import slab price and reflected sales to Italy in its steel slab export, fob Black Sea, CIS assessment, which included both Russian and Ukrainian material.
Slab supply from Ukraine stopped due to the suspension of some major steelmaking and port operations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, 2022.
In the absence of Ukraine, Italian re-rollers had to turn to alternative sources of slab, such as India, China and Indonesia.
Other potential sources of slab to Italy are Brazil and Iran.
The new assessment will be essential for tracking price trends amid the increased number of suppliers and origins and will broaden the scope of Fastmarkets’ global slab coverage.
The proposed price specifications are as follows:
Assessment: Steel slab import, cif Italy
Quality: S235JR, width 1,250-2,100mm, thickness 220- 270mm, length 6,000-12,000mm
Quantity: 20,000-50,000 tonnes
Timing: 8-10 weeks
Currency USD/tonne
Payment terms: LC at sight
Incoterms: cif Italy
Publication: Weekly, 2-3 pm London time on Fridays
The consultation period for this proposed launch will end one month from the date of this pricing notice, on Wednesday May 1. The launch will take place, subject to market feedback, on Friday May 3.
To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to any of these prices, please contact Vlada Novokreshchenova by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Vlada Novokreshchenova, re: Italy import slab price.’
To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, please go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology
