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Industrial policy and the European steel market
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The European steel industry is a strategic sector at the heart of the EU economy - responsible for 330,000 direct jobs and 2.6 million indirectly or induced jobs overall. The 160 million tonnes of finished steel the industry produces every year make modern life possible, with the metal used in automotive production, construction and in the creation of household and medical goods and appliances.
The importance and size of the European steel industry to the EU economy means that ensuring the regulatory and legislative framework is appropriate is the essential work of policy makers. This includes all facets of laws which affect the way the sector operates, including climate, competition, environment and trade policies. Only through getting all of these policies right can the sector's competitiveness be enhanced.
Taken together, the way these policy approaches interact is where the EU's industrial policy comes in: the attempt to bring order to a large rule book and to ensure that the right support and framework exists for the European steel sector to be competitive in a world of cut-throat competition. EUROFER supports the EU's work to build an industrial policy fit for the 21st century.
No industrial policy worth its name can exist without hard data confirming the trends in the sector. This is why EUROFER has a dedicated statistics and market analysis division - which compiles and updates a large body of statistical and economic data pertaining to the sector. This coverage includes employment, production, real and apparent demand, trade statistics and so on. EUROFER includes much of this data in its annual European Steel in Figures guide and its quarterly Economic and Market Outlook reports.
Brussels, 05 September 2024 – The latest developments in the steel sector and across critical value chains are worrying signs of a steady deterioration, endangering the survival and the transition of steelmakers and their key manufacturing customers in Europe, such as automotive. A Clean Industrial Deal including swift and radical measures in EU industrial, energy and trade policies, is the last chance to ensure Europe’s prosperity and shield European industry from cheap imports driven by third countries’ unfair trade practices, overcapacity and lower climate ambition, urges the European Steel Association.
Third quarter 2024 report. Data up to, and including, first quarter 2024
Brussels, 25 July 2024 – Major indicators in the European steel market show a steeper-than-expected downward trend, further impacting the outlook for this year and the next. Poor demand conditions, driven by ongoing factors such as high energy prices, persistent inflation, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, are exacerbated by a manufacturing crisis affecting the largest steel-using sectors, including construction and automotive. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, apparent steel consumption is further deteriorating. After a slump (-3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024, its rebound for the full year has been revised downwards (to +1.4% from +3.2%), as well as for 2025 (+4.1% from +5.6%). Similarly, output in steel-using sectors, after a decline in the first quarter (-1.9%), is projected to experience a deeper-than-expected recession (-1.6% from -1%). A recovery is anticipated only in 2025 (+2.3%). Steel imports continue to show historically high shares (27%).
The European Steel Association publishes quarterly economic reports assessing the state of the industry.
EUROFER is a member of Industry4Europe, a large and unprecedented coalition of organisations dedicated to campaigning for an ambitious EU industrial strategy.