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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, 13 September 2023 – The European steel sector welcomes the vision for a renewed Industrial Strategy set out by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the State of the Union address. Relaunching Europe’s industrial engine with concrete measures in all relevant policy areas should be both a core mission for the final year of this legislature and a top priority for the future EU executive. The European steel sector, which has launched over 60 industrial-scale decarbonisation projects, stands ready to engage with the Commission to develop and implement the urgent actions needed to boost the whole European cleantech ecosystem, says the European Steel Association.
Third quarter 2023 report. Data up to, and including, first quarter 2023
Brussels, 26 July 2023 – The lingering impact of several downside factors severely affecting apparent steel consumption in 2022 – high energy prices, production costs, war in Ukraine - continues to feed uncertainty and pressure the steel market outlook for 2023, resulting in a deeper-than-expected recession (-3%). This would mark the fourth negative performance in the past five years. A stronger recovery is projected in 2024 (+6.2%), contingent on more favourable conditions in the overall industrial outlook. Despite persisting overall weak demand, imports still maintain historically high demand market shares (22%).
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.