Fires at factories led to a series of forced production shutdowns in October, leading to supply cuts that could support rising steel prices in Europe.
Members of the European Parliament recorded an increase in prices for all flat rolled products in each of the countries that were assessed according to this indicator by the European Metallurgy Survey for this month. Uncertainty about the future profitability of imports against the background of customs duties coming into force soon and the EU import protection measures replacing them is providing the main support to prices.
The draft decision of the European Commission published this month .
CBAM benchmarks may help some importers assess their CBAM tax obligations for 2026. However, recent production shutdowns at EU plants may lead to a reduction in supplies, as most buyers begin to prefer domestic materials over imported ones.
- This article first appeared in the European Steel Review by MEPS International. The monthly review contains steel prices, indexes, comments, and forecasts for 12 months, covering Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[url= / / /gb/en/pages/contact-meps]Contact the members of the European Parliament for detailed information on how to sign up.
On October 8, a fire on the conveyor line at the ArcelorMittal plant in Fos-sur—Mer led to the shutdown of blast furnace No. 2 and the steelmaking workshop at the enterprise. The roll production plant is expected to resume operations no earlier than mid-December. This month, respondents from the European Parliament in France reported supply disruptions caused by the closure, especially in connection with their attempts to purchase coils two meters wide.
Thyssenkrupp launch suspended due to blaze
Meanwhile, due to a fire at thyssenkrupp Steel's hot-rolled strip plant in Bruckhausen, Duisburg, production has been suspended since October 24. The incident occurred at the new hot rolling mill No. 4, which was launched in July after a recent upgrade worth 800 million euros. According to thyssenkrupp, due to the fact that the plant is in the startup stage, the effect of the shutdown will be minimal. However, later the steel company temporarily shut down blast furnace No. 9 at the Bruckhausen site. This was part of a plan to reduce production by 2.5 million tons per year due to lower demand, which was first announced in 2012-2024.
A few days after the thyssenkrupp fire, Marcegaglia's cold rolling capacity was temporarily reduced due to a fire at the Ravenna plant in Northern Italy. This affected the operation of one of the three cold rolling workshops at the plant, leading to a production shutdown that, according to the steel manufacturer, will last "several weeks."
