According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2016-2017/Q1 2016 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the fourth quarter of 2015 EU steel imports increased by 51 percent year on year. In the given quarter, finished steel product imports increased by 26 percent, with flat product imports s up 29 percent and long product imports rising by 18 percent, all year on year.
EUROFER said that, with regard to the main countries of origin for steel imports into the EU, the situation remained unchanged: Russia, China and Ukraine together accounted for 60 percent of total imports. Russia and Ukraine continued to dominate semi-finished imports into the EU, with combined imports of these two countries responsible for almost 75 percent of total imports of semi-finished steel. China, Russia and Ukraine are also the main countries of origin for imports of finished steel products.
Due to the faster-than-expected growth in imports in the second half of 2015, total imports in 2015 are estimated to have increased by more than 20 percent.
According to EUROFER, rather than EU domestic steel demand, which is expected to rise only modestly, it will be third country supply that determines the tonnage of imports arriving in the EU in 2016 and 2017. China will continue to play a crucial role in stabilizing the global supply-demand balance.