According to Giuseppe Pasini, President of Feralpi Group, there is a moderate increase in consumption in Germany along with the restoration of consumer confidence in the market. He predicts a market recovery in the second half of the year due to the new government.
It suggests a stronger partnership between government and industry over energy, as well as a shift in the perspective of the new government in relation to the manufacturing sector. The cost of transporting energy resources to energy-intensive enterprises has increased over the past two years, and the previous administration did little to help your business.
The European Commission's perspective on creating a unified energy policy for society, taking into account the diverse interests of individual member States. The European Commission is "very shy about industrial policy, energy and decarbonization," Pasini said at the Made In Steel conference last week. He added that steelmakers are being urged to decarbonize by switching from blast furnace production to electric arc furnace production, ignoring the 18 million tons of scrap per year that are exported from the EU.
"As for Italy, we cannot complain about consumption, as 2024 was an important year for PNRR[the national recovery fund for infrastructure projects]," Pasini said.
Consumption in Italy has shown resilience, and the rebar market has strengthened thanks to the infrastructure sector, supported by the national pandemic recovery fund. Many projects are currently underway, and the authorities are actively seeking to delay the deadline set by the European Commission for the completion of PNRR projects until 2026.
The impact of U.
S. tariffs on the rebar sector appears to be limited, however, it may lead to Pasini noting that it is important to understand that the steel industry operates within a broader industrial ecosystem where trade conflict significantly affects manufacturers of machinery and certain equipment. "The real risk today is China Trump is defending his country from a Chinese invasion, not a European one." … I believe that eventually we will reach an agreement with the United States through negotiations," he added.
In 2024, Feralpi group reported a modest increase in steel production compared to last year to 2.5 million tons. Turnover was just under 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion), reflecting a slight decrease compared to last year. 2023.
In the first quarter of 2025, these figures were mostly in line with last year's figures. Pasini expects some improvement in the situation this year, which will be facilitated by PNRR projects. Currently, demand in the infrastructure sector is growing, while the housing market is
