According to the European Steel Association (Eurofer), EU steel consumption will fall by more than 1.9% in 2022 amid a sharp increase in energy prices, continued disruptions in global supply chains and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, after which demand will recover by 5.1% in 2023.
The association reported that in the fourth quarter of 2021, apparent steel consumption in the EU-27 was 36.3 million tons, an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period in 2020, after increasing by 14.3% in the third quarter. Steel consumption in Europe rose sharply in 2021 by 15.2% after a deep decline of 10.7% in 2020 caused by the pandemic.
Eurofer expects production in steel-using sectors to increase by two percent in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.
EU domestic supplies of steel products grew by just 0.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, reflecting a slowdown in EU demand in the second half of 2021. In 2021, supplies to the EU recovered by 10.7%.
Furthermore, in the last quarter of 2021, EU steel imports grew by 43% year-on-year after rising 48% in the third quarter. For the whole of last year, EU steel imports rose significantly by 32% percent after falling by 17.1% in 2020.
