Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for €1, in 01.12.2024-31.12.2024)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
The market of steel structures for construction purposes in Ukraine grew by 15% to 91 thousand tons in 2024, according to a study by the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center (USCC) association.
According to a presentation on Thursday, the construction segment of Ukraine in 2024, according to Metinvest SMC, accounted for 24% of the structure of rolled steel consumption, which is equal to the figures for 2023, small consumers and retail trade – 32% (up 2% by 2023), machine building and mining – 14% (minus 1%), hardware industry – 11% (-1%), metalworking and profiling – 13% (+2%) and the pipe industry – 7% (-2%).
It is noted that the steel structures market in Ukraine continues to recover from the crisis caused by the war and economic challenges. The growth in consumption of steel structures is due to an increase in imports last year compared to 2023. Also, in the first half of last year, there was a positive trend due to the implementation of infrastructure projects.
Despite the positive trends, the steel structures market faces a number of challenges, such as electricity shortages at enterprises due to massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, a shortage of skilled workers due to increased mobilization and outflow of labor, and logistical difficulties.
In 2025, the USCC experts forecast continued growth in steel consumption of 10-12% – up to 102 thousand tons by the end of the year, provided that the economy stabilizes and further financing of the country’s reconstruction is provided. At the same time, it is noted that the existing challenges require active support from the government and international partners to ensure the stable development of the industry in the future.
The main trends for 2025 are an increase in public procurement for infrastructure projects, the restoration of the energy sector, and the construction of logistics and industrial centers.
It is also reported that in 2024, according to Metipol, the growth in consumption of galvanized steel was 5.6%, but slowed down compared to 2023, when the market grew by 45.5%. However, it is clarified that last year, almost half of the galvanized steel (45.6%) was imported from Turkey, while Ukrainian producers provided only 35.4% of the consumed steel.
In 2024, the volume of apparent consumption of polymer-coated metal in Ukraine increased by 5.4% compared to 2023, to 292.2 thousand tons, which is 15% less than in 2021. Consumption growth has been recorded for the second year in a row, but last year it was much slower than in 2023, according to the study. Consumption of Ukrainian rolled products increased by 48% to 87.7 thousand tons in 2024. The volume of imported polymer-coated rolled products consumed in Ukraine decreased by 6.5% to 204.5 thousand tons, while exports increased by 39%.
The USCC is an association of steel market participants whose members include leading manufacturers and distributors of rolled steel, steel structures, roofing and facade systems, industry design and research organizations, installation and construction companies. Today it includes more than 60 specialized companies.
The number of housing starts in the United States in March fell by 11.4% compared to the previous month and amounted to 1.324 million in annualized terms, the country’s Commerce Department reported.
This is the maximum decline in the last year.
According to the revised data, in February the number of new buildings amounted to 1.494 million, not 1.501 million, as previously reported.
Analysts on average had forecast a 5.4% decline from the previously announced February level, to 1.42 million, according to Trading Economics.
The construction of single-family homes fell by 14.2% last month to 940 thousand. At the same time, the number of new apartment buildings (including apartments and condominiums), a more volatile segment of the market, remained unchanged at 371 thousand.
The number of permits for the construction of new homes in March increased by 1.6% to 1.482 million in terms of annualized rates. Experts expected an average of 1.45 million.
The number of building permits for single-family homes decreased by 2% to 978 thousand, while the number of apartment buildings jumped by 10.1% to 445 thousand.
The number of new buildings in the US last month was 1.9% higher than in March 2024.
Kyiv has provided veterans’, rehabilitation and volunteer organizations with premises with a total area of about 18,000 square meters, the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) has reported.
“Since February 2022, the Kyiv Department of Communal Property has been systematically working to provide support to veterans’ and volunteer organizations by providing the necessary premises for use, in particular for the rehabilitation of Defenders,” the department said on its website on Thursday.
Thus, about 6 thousand square meters have been transferred to veteran organizations and institutions that provide services to veterans, contributing to their adaptation and support. Almost 2.6 thousand square meters were allocated to state and local governments, as well as institutions that were forced to move from the occupied territories. Volunteer and non-governmental organizations that support military formations received more than 2 thousand square meters of space. Also, about 7.2 thousand square meters were allocated to organizations involved in the assistance and rehabilitation of people with disabilities.
In addition, the city is carrying out repairs in the transferred premises, in particular by the Kyivzhilospetsekspertypatsiya, creating appropriate conditions for the accommodation and activities of organizations.
As noted in the report, the Department will continue to work to ensure appropriate conditions for organizations that contribute to the city’s defense capability and support socially vulnerable categories of citizens.
In the first quarter, medical institutions purchased medical supplies worth UAH 2.8 billion through the Prozorro Market e-catalog.
According to the state-owned enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU), which administers the medical part of the catalog, this is 1.4 times more than in the same period in 2024.
According to the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, the savings in procurement through Prozorro Market amounted to UAH 1.3 billion, with customers saving an average of 12.7% of the expected cost.
At the same time, the percentage of closing deals in the e-catalog was 78.8% compared to 65.7% in open tenders, and the average duration of the procedure was eight days compared to 19 in open tenders.
The Ministry of Healthcare also notes that in 2024 the number of contracting authorities increased to 1978, and the number of qualified suppliers to 4769.
“In 2024, DTEK Kyiv Regional Power Grids invested UAH 1.5 billion in the repair and development of grids, and this year the company plans to invest UAH 1 billion, said Vitaliy Shayda, CEO of the company.
“The amount of investments in network repairs and development in 2024 is UAH 1.5 billion. In 2025, we will invest more than UAH 1 billion,” he said at a briefing in Kyiv.
According to him, the company has repaired and renewed more than 9.5 thousand km of overhead power lines, updated almost 2 thousand power facilities, performed 852 repairs of cable lines, and cleared more than 4 thousand km of routes from overgrowth. He emphasized that thanks to these large-scale preparatory works, the company was able to prepare for the autumn-winter period and successfully pass it, providing reliable electricity supply to the residents of Kyiv region under martial law.
Shaida clarified that in 2024 the company connected almost 13 thousand facilities to its networks, which is 80% of the 2021 figure.
“This is evidence that the Kyiv region is living, building, developing, and this requires a modern electrical infrastructure. Therefore, we are directing all available resources to strengthen the grids to meet the region’s need for a stable and reliable power system,” he said.
According to Shaida, in 2024, five industrial green energy facilities were connected to the company’s grids: two solar power plants, one bioenergy facility, and two thermal power plants.
In addition, 1.5 thousand prosumers – household solar generation stations – have joined the company’s grid.
Shayda also noted that in 2024, a pilot project with a digital twin of the power grids was implemented at the Irpin power center. According to him, this allows for a quicker response to accidents, better load planning, and increased reliability of power supply.
DTEK KREM plans to repair more than 1.6 thousand power facilities and more than 9 thousand kilometers of overhead lines in 2025, and clear more than 4 thousand kilometers of routes from overgrowth.
