While producing over 126 million tonnes and employing a vast network of over 300,000 workers, Europe's steel industry is navigating a complex landscape of fluctuating production, urgent decarbonization, and intense global competition, as revealed by the latest data from its major national hubs.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the European Union produced 126.3 million metric tons of crude steel, accounting for 10.8% of global production
- Germany's crude steel production in 2023 was 35.8 million tonnes, down 1.2% from 2022 due to energy costs
- Italy's steel production reached 21.1 million tonnes in 2022, with electric arc furnaces comprising 72% of output
- In 2022, EU apparent steel consumption was 134.2 million tonnes, down 6.3% from 2021
- Germany's steel use reached 38.5 million tonnes in 2023
- Italy consumed 22.7 million tonnes of steel products in 2022
- EU steel exports totaled 25.7 million tonnes in 2022, down 14%
- Germany's steel exports reached 12.4 million tonnes in 2023, primarily to EU partners
- Italy exported 14.2 million tonnes of steel products in 2022
- EU employment in steel industry was 327,000 direct jobs in 2022
- Germany employed 152,000 in steel sector in 2023
- Italy's steel workforce numbered 38,500 in 2022
- EU CO2 emissions from steel production totaled 170 million tonnes in 2022
- Germany's steel industry emitted 28.5 million tonnes CO2 in 2023
- Italy's steel decarbonization investments reached €2.5 billion by 2022
Europe's steel industry faces declining production but is advancing toward greener operations.
Consumption
- In 2022, EU apparent steel consumption was 134.2 million tonnes, down 6.3% from 2021
- Germany's steel use reached 38.5 million tonnes in 2023
- Italy consumed 22.7 million tonnes of steel products in 2022
- France's apparent steel consumption was 13.8 million tonnes in 2023, down 4%
- Spain used 14.2 million tonnes of steel in 2022, up 2.1%
- Poland's steel consumption totaled 11.4 million tonnes in 2023
- Netherlands steel demand was 5.9 million tonnes in 2022
- Belgium consumed 3.8 million tonnes of steel in 2023
- Sweden's steel use was 4.1 million tonnes in 2022
- UK's apparent steel consumption fell to 9.2 million tonnes in 2023
- Automotive sector in EU consumed 12.6 million tonnes of steel in 2022
- Construction sector demand for steel in EU was 45.3 million tonnes in 2023
- Mechanical engineering used 18.7 million tonnes of steel in EU 2022
- Domestic appliances sector consumption was 4.2 million tonnes in EU 2023
- Energy sector steel demand in EU reached 8.9 million tonnes in 2022
- EU steel intensity of GDP was 28.5 kg per 1000 EUR in 2023
- Germany's automotive steel use was 15.4 million tonnes in 2022
- Italy construction steel demand 12.1 million tonnes in 2023
- France mechanical sector steel 5.6 million tonnes 2022
- Spain's steel stock levels averaged 7.2 million tonnes in 2023
- Per capita steel use in EU was 299 kg in 2022
- Poland automotive steel consumption 3.8 million tonnes 2023
- EU steel imports for consumption adjusted to 28.4 million tonnes in 2022
- Forecast EU steel demand for 2024 is 132 million tonnes, down 1.5%
Consumption Interpretation
The European steel industry is holding a collective yard sale in slow motion, with the EU's overall demand forecast to dip again in 2024, though Germany remains a glutton for automotive steel, Italy's construction appetite is hearty, and Spain is cautiously restocking its pantry.
Employment
- EU employment in steel industry was 327,000 direct jobs in 2022
- Germany employed 152,000 in steel sector in 2023
- Italy's steel workforce numbered 38,500 in 2022
- France had 29,000 steel jobs in 2023, down 2%
- Spain's steel industry employed 32,000 workers in 2022
- Poland steel employment reached 45,000 in 2023
- UK's direct steel jobs were 31,900 in 2022
- Sweden employed 15,200 in steel production in 2023
- Belgium steel sector jobs totaled 12,400 in 2022
- Netherlands Tata Steel employed 9,000 in IJmuiden in 2023
- EU indirect jobs supported by steel industry: 2.3 million in 2022
- Average wage in EU steel sector was €45,200 annually in 2023
- Germany's steel R&D staff numbered 8,500 in 2022
- Italy training programs trained 4,200 steel workers in 2023
- France steel apprenticeships: 2,100 new in 2022
- Spain female employment in steel rose to 18% or 5,800 in 2023
- Poland steel jobs turnover rate 4.2% in 2022
- UK steel health & safety incidents down 15% to 450 in 2023
- EU steel productivity per worker was 385 tonnes in 2022
- Austria Voestalpine employed 50,000 group-wide with 20,000 in steel in 2023
- Czech steel jobs 18,000 in 2022
- EU steel overtime hours averaged 120 per worker in 2023
- Finland Outokumpu steel workforce 9,200 in 2022
- Romania steel employment 22,000 in 2023
Employment Interpretation
Germany carries Europe's steel industry on its broad shoulders, with nearly half of all EU jobs, while the continent's economic engine hums along—supported by over 2.3 million indirect livelihoods—despite France's subtle downsizing, Italy's concentrated muscle, and Poland's growing clout on the factory floor.
Production
- In 2022, the European Union produced 126.3 million metric tons of crude steel, accounting for 10.8% of global production
- Germany's crude steel production in 2023 was 35.8 million tonnes, down 1.2% from 2022 due to energy costs
- Italy's steel production reached 21.1 million tonnes in 2022, with electric arc furnaces comprising 72% of output
- France produced 12.4 million tonnes of crude steel in 2023, focusing on low-carbon technologies
- Spain's crude steel output was 13.6 million tonnes in 2022, up 4.5% year-over-year
- The EU-27 steel production in Q1 2024 was 32.4 million tonnes, a 2.8% decline from Q1 2023
- Netherlands steel production stood at 6.7 million tonnes in 2022, primarily from Tata Steel IJmuiden
- Belgium produced 4.2 million tonnes of crude steel in 2023, with a focus on high-value flat products
- Austria's crude steel production was 7.1 million tonnes in 2022, led by Voestalpine
- Czech Republic steel output reached 5.3 million tonnes in 2023
- Poland's crude steel production in 2022 was 7.8 million tonnes, growing 3.2%
- Sweden produced 4.6 million tonnes of steel in 2023, emphasizing green steel initiatives
- UK's steel production fell to 5.9 million tonnes in 2022 from 7.5 in 2021 due to Scunthorpe closure
- Romania's output was 4.9 million tonnes in 2023
- Slovakia produced 5.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2022
- Finland's steel production was 3.8 million tonnes in 2023
- EU blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) production share was 55% of total in 2022
- Electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity utilization in EU reached 78% in 2023
- Germany's Ruhr Valley produced 18.2 million tonnes of steel slabs in 2022
- Italy's Taranto plant output was 8.9 million tonnes in 2023
- France's Dunkerque mill produced 4.5 million tonnes of slabs in 2022
- Spain's Sagunto plant contributed 2.1 million tonnes to national production in 2023
- EU hot-rolled coil production totaled 45.6 million tonnes in 2022
- Long products production in EU was 38.2 million tonnes in 2023, down 5%
- Flat products output in Germany alone was 22.4 million tonnes in 2022
- EU direct reduced iron (DRI) production was 1.2 million tonnes in 2023
- Capacity utilization rate for EU steel industry averaged 72% in 2022
- Turkey's EU-adjacent production influenced EU with 33.7 million tonnes in 2022 (noted for comparison)
- Luxembourg's steel production dropped to 2.1 million tonnes in 2023
- Hungary produced 1.9 million tonnes of crude steel in 2022
Production Interpretation
The European steel industry, while still a formidable titan producing a tenth of the world's steel, is a mosaic of resilient adaptation and painful retrenchment, with Germany wrestling energy costs, Italy and France forging ahead with electric and green steel, and the UK mourning a major closure, all under the persistent shadow of underutilized capacity and a gradual, gritty pivot toward sustainability.
Sustainability
- EU CO2 emissions from steel production totaled 170 million tonnes in 2022
- Germany's steel industry emitted 28.5 million tonnes CO2 in 2023
- Italy's steel decarbonization investments reached €2.5 billion by 2022
- France's steel CO2 intensity was 1.45 tonnes per tonne steel in 2023
- Spain recycled 85% of steel scrap in production in 2022
- EU steel recycling rate was 83% in 2023, saving 600 million tonnes CO2 cumulatively
- Poland's electric furnace scrap use was 92% of input in 2022
- Sweden's HYBRIT project produced fossil-free steel trial of 1 tonne in 2023
- UK's steel net-zero roadmap targets 30 million tonnes low-carbon by 2050
- EU hydrogen-ready blast furnaces numbered 5 in operation by 2022
- Germany's ArcelorMittal plans 5 million tonnes green steel by 2030
- Italy Taranto plant emission reduction 20% via best available techniques in 2023
- France electric steelmaking share rose to 45% in 2022
- EU water usage in steel production averaged 22 m³ per tonne in 2023
- Spain's Celsa green steel via 100% scrap EAF certified in 2022
- EU steel energy intensity improved 12% since 2015 to 18.5 GJ/tonne in 2023
- Poland Baosteel green investments €500 million in 2022
- H2 Green Steel Sweden startup capacity 2.5 million tonnes planned 2025
- EU ETS carbon costs for steel hit €4.2 billion in 2023
- Finland Clouba hydrogen project for DRI 1.8 million tonnes planned
- EU steel biodiversity initiatives covered 15,000 hectares in 2022
- Carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) impacts EU steel imports from 2023
Sustainability Interpretation
Europe's steel industry is currently a messy but determined Jekyll and Hyde: while its old carbon-spewing half still belches away, its new green half is feverishly recycling, electrifying, and even dabbling in hydrogen to bake a cleaner future, all while nervously eyeing the carbon taxman at the door.
Trade
- EU steel exports totaled 25.7 million tonnes in 2022, down 14%
- Germany's steel exports reached 12.4 million tonnes in 2023, primarily to EU partners
- Italy exported 14.2 million tonnes of steel products in 2022
- France's steel imports were 9.8 million tonnes in 2023, up 5%
- Spain exported 7.6 million tonnes of steel in 2022
- EU steel trade surplus narrowed to 1.2 million tonnes in 2023
- Poland's steel imports from China were 1.4 million tonnes in 2022
- UK's steel imports rose to 4.3 million tonnes in 2023
- Netherlands handled 15.2 million tonnes of steel imports via Rotterdam in 2022
- Belgium's steel exports to non-EU countries were 2.1 million tonnes in 2023
- Sweden exported 3.4 million tonnes of specialty steel in 2022
- EU imports from China accounted for 22% of total steel imports in 2023
- Germany's top export market for steel was France with 2.8 million tonnes in 2022
- Italy's steel trade deficit with Asia was 3.2 million tonnes in 2023
- France exported 6.7 million tonnes of steel intra-EU in 2022
- Spain's rebar exports to Middle East totaled 1.9 million tonnes in 2023
- EU safeguard quotas filled 85% for hot-rolled coil in Q4 2022
- Poland exported 4.5 million tonnes of steel to Germany in 2023
- UK's steel trade with EU post-Brexit was 7.1 million tonnes imports in 2022
- EU steel exports to US were 1.8 million tonnes under quota in 2023
- Netherlands steel transshipment to UK was 2.4 million tonnes in 2022
Trade Interpretation
The European steel market is performing a complex, slightly off-balance tango: while Germany remains the powerhouse dancing mostly within the EU club, the allure of cheap Asian steel keeps pulling others offbeat, shrinking the continent's trade surplus to a precarious pirouette as everyone watches Rotterdam's port spin a dizzying amount of metal.
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