According to a report by the Economic Committee of the European Steel Manufacturers Association (EUROFER) "Prospects of the economy and the steel market for 2026-2027/2nd quarter of 2026", steel consumption in the EU in 2025 It recovered at a faster pace than expected, increasing by 4.4% year-on-year to 134 million units million tons, driven by exceptionally strong growth rates in the second half of the year and a sharp increase in imports.
According to EUROFER, steel consumption increased by 13.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, following a 4.7% increase in the third quarter. The increase partly reflects a comparison with the very low volumes recorded in the same period last year, as well as deferred purchases in anticipation of higher demand expected in 2026. However, apparent steel consumption remains about 10 million tons below pre-pandemic levels.
Capacity utilization remains low despite the recovery in consumption
EUROFER also noted that steel capacity utilization in the EU remained low, amounting to 65.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. By 2026, broadly unchanged from 65 percent in 2025. According to the association, this indicates the continued weakness of the underlying market conditions, despite the recovery in steel consumption.
Looking ahead, EUROFER expects EU steel consumption to continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, by 0.4% in 2026 to 135 million tonnes, and then increase by 2.2% in 2027 to 138 million tonnes. Meanwhile, real steel consumption rose 0.9 percent in 2025 after three consecutive years of declines, and is projected to increase 1.4 percent in 2026 and 2027, boosted by restocking.
Demand from the steel industry is expected to continue to grow in 2027, with the steel-weighted industrial production index projected to grow by 2.4 percent due to increased construction, machinery, and automobile production.
GDP growth persists despite geopolitical uncertainty
Meanwhile, EUROFER said that economic growth is continuing despite the geopolitical uncertainty. According to the report, EU GDP increased by one percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, compared with growth of 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Over the same period, real GDP grew 0.3 percent in Germany, 1.1 percent in France, 0.7 percent in Italy and 2.7 percent in Spain, which continued to outperform other major EU economies.
EUROFER predicts that the EU's GDP will grow by one percent in 2026 and by 1.4 percent in 2027, after increasing by 1.3 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, in the European Commission's spring forecast
