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.
Ucimu: orders index for the second quarter of 2026 still down (-25.8%); foreign orders (-15.3%); dom
Riccardo Rosa, president of UCIMU: "We'll have to wait until the next few months to see the full effects of the hyper-depreciation, but we're very confident this measure will last until September 2028." In the second quarter of 2026, the machine tool orders index compiled by the UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE Study & Business Culture Centre recorded a decline of -25.8% compared to the April-June 2025 period . In absolute value, the index stood at 47.8 (base 100 in 2021). The result expresses the difficulties that Italian machine tool manufacturers have encountered both on the domestic and foreign markets. In particular, orders collected from abroad decreased by -15.3% compared to the second quarter of 2025, for an absolute value of 63.2. Order intake in Italy also declined , falling 38.7% compared to the same period of the previous year. The absolute value of the index stood at 33.1. Riccardo Rosa, president of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: “The uncertainty of the geopolitical context—shaken by wars, the Hormuz crisis, and the decidedly worrying attitude of the President of the United States toward international politics—has profoundly undermined the already precarious balance in which the industry found itself operating.” "The decline in international deliveries, given the current situation, is understandable, and we expected it. Business has slowed, but, as is our custom, we've tried to focus our offerings on those areas less directly affected by conflicts and critical issues, diversifying our product offerings wherever possible." "It is certain ," continued President Riccardo Rosa , " that the investment figures and values once ensured by the automotive industry cannot be replaced by the demand expressed by other sectors, however dynamic, such as defense, aerospace, and energy. For this reason, once again, we ask our representatives in Europe to reconsider their decision and adopt the principle of technological neutrality when defining automotive development plans. This approach would allow the industry, and its entire supply chain, to properly manage the ongoing transition, not only respecting the environment but also safeguarding, where possible, employment." Domestically, businesses awaited clarifications on the hyper-depreciation program to confirm their purchasing intentions. Since June 12th, the day all the operational steps were completed, the hyper-depreciation program has been bearing fruit. We immediately noticed a change in attitude among Italian users: orders are starting to arrive. "We'll have to wait a few more months, however, for the effect to be fully reflected in our data, but we're definitely confident. This is also because, in the meantime, we have data from the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, which, as of July 9th, reported the submission of 7,000 communications on the GSE platform, worth €2.5 billion." MIMIT deserves great credit for having established a multi-year term for this incentive. Its effectiveness until September 2028 should ensure thoughtful planning of investments in new machine tools and production technologies by Italian customers, also allowing us manufacturers to plan our production activities over the medium term. "The hope ," concluded Riccardo Rosa , " is to soon see the Italian market return to the levels it experienced in 2021-2022, when it was worth over €6 billion. This is also because our manufacturing industry needs to innovate to remain competitive in an international context where digital and AI are completely reshaping the rules of the game."
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