Steel exports to slow further in 2025
Exports decline for the third consecutive year. Analysis by the siderweb Research Office. Italian steel exports (iron and steel products, pipes, and other primary processing products) continued to decline in 2025. Last year, steel exports fell in value by 5.7% compared to 2024, from €20.9 billion to €19.7 billion. This is according to data published by Istat and revised by the siderweb Research Office . Results, caused by a progressive decline in both prices and quantities sold , which therefore record the third consecutive slowdown after the two-year growth period 2021-2022 (closed with +51.7% and +23.8%). Exports fell by the same amount as imports, which also dropped 5.7% (€21.1 billion). Italy thus confirmed its position as a net importer of approximately €1.4 billion. Looking at the data by province , we note that the top 20 steel provinces in Italy exported steel worth 16.3 billion euros, a 5.1% decrease compared to the 17.2 billion euros in 2024. The predominance of Lombardy's districts in the Top 10 is confirmed, consolidating the geography of Italian steel production hubs that was created after the 2008-2009 crisis. Higher-than-average changes were recorded in Genoa (+8.3%), which rose to 18th place; Ravenna (+7.7%), which rose to 11th place; Verona (+5.5%), which dropped one place to 12th; and Brescia (+2.0%), which remained stable at the top. The provinces that showed the most significant declines were Mantua (-14.9%), which dropped one position to fourth place; Milan (-12.8%), which remained stable in sixth place; Lecco (-12.1%), which fell to ninth place; and Aosta (-11.8%), which remained in 13th place. The top three thus saw a shift compared to 2024: the province of Brescia remained in first place, followed by Udine and Cremona. Brescia sold €1.9 billion worth of steel outside Italy, up 2% compared to 2024. Supporting the partial recovery of the Brescia hub, after last year's declines, were positive performances in all three export categories: steel products (+0.5%), pipes (+7.4%), and other steel products (+4%). Udine comes in second, with a value of €1.8 billion, a decline of 4.7%. This result has caused the Friulian province to widen its gap with Brescia, with the difference between the two areas increasing from approximately €3 million to €127 million. The declines are due to a contraction in shipments of steel products (-4.3%) and other steel-processing products (-8.2%). Finally, the province of Cremona moved up one position compared to 2024 (overtaking Mantua) and recorded exports worth €1.5 billion, a 2.8% annual decrease. In particular, the Cremona hub saw an increase in sales of steel products (+3.2%), which mitigated the more than 8% decline in pipe exports. Taranto (home to Acciaierie d'Italia) remained outside the Top 20 for the second consecutive year. Its export value fell from 362 million euros in 2022, to 281 million in 2023, to 70.4 million euros in 2024 (-75%) and to 42.0 million in 2025, a 40.3% drop compared to the previous year. Terni (home of Arvedi Ast) gained ground thanks to a decline in exports (-7.3%), less than that of the Lecco hub (-12.1%). Exports of steel products decreased by 7.8% and those of pipes by 20.8%, while sales of other primary steel processing products increased by 19.7%. Livorno (where JSW Steel Italy operates in Piombino) dropped from 23rd place in 2024 to return to the Top 20, ranking 19th. In 2025, the Livorno hub's exports were valued at €188 million, down 4.6% due to slowdowns in steel products and pipe sales abroad.
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