According to the data issued by the Ukrainian Association of Metal Traders, in January to August 2009 the country registered a 47.6% decrease in rolled steel consumption YoY to approximately 3,220,381 tonnes. Meanwhile, during the period in question imports of rolled products to Ukraine went down by 71.1%YoY to 403,431 tonnes.
Accordingly, in January to August this year Ukrainian pipe making companies reduced purchases of domestic and imported rolled products by 34.7%YoY to about 1.033 million tonnes, local construction companies cut purchases by 70% to 55,829 tonnes, railway companies by 20.1% YoY to 52,302 tonnes and hardware producers by 41.5% YoY to 268,273 tonnes all compared with the same period of the previous year.
Furthermore, Ukrainian steel traders including the smaller companies reduced their purchases of domestic and imported rolled steel products by 59.9% to 837,175 tonnes and mining and metallurgical companies cut their purchases by 3.5%YoY to 548,069 tonnes while machine building companies’ decreased purchases by 68.6%YoY to 346,662 tonnes all compared with the data for January to August 2008.
In January to August 2009, traders share in the total rolled steel consumption volume in the Ukrainian domestic market amounted to 26%, the share of pipe making companies amounted to 32%, the share of machine building companies reached 11%, the share of mining and metallurgical companies amounted to 17%, the share of hardware producers was 8%, the share of construction companies stood at 2%, the share of railway companies was 2% while the share of other companies amounted to 2%. (SteelOrbis)