According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2024-2025/Q4 2024 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the second quarter of 2024 apparent steel consumption in the EU-27 amounted to 34.8 million mt, down by 1.3 percent year on year, after a 3.0 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2024.
In 2024, apparent steel consumption is expected to experience another drop of 1.8 percent, revised downwards from the previous forecast of a 1.4 percent increase, despite expectations of more favorable developments in the industrial outlook and an improvement in steel demand earlier this year. EUROFER expects that in 2025 apparent steel consumption will grow at a slower pace, at 3.8 percent, compared to the previous forecast of a 4.1 percent increase, conditional on a positive industrial outlook and easing geopolitical tensions.
Steel demand remains subject to very high uncertainty. No improvement in apparent steel consumption is expected in the remaining year and consumption volumes may remain far below pre-pandemic levels.
In the second quarter, the output of steel-using sectors declined by 2.1 percent year on year due to a continued downturn in the construction, mechanical engineering, domestic appliance and metalware sectors, as well as a slowdown in the automotive sector, after decreasing by 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2024. For 2024, output is expected to decline by 2.7 percent, compared to the previous expectation of a 1.6 percent decrease, mainly due to the continual recession in the construction sector and the drop in the automotive sector.
In addition, domestic deliveries in the EU fell by 1.7 percent year on year in the given quarter, after a 5.6 percent fall in the previous quarter.