According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2013-2014/Q1 2013 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), the total steel tube output in the European Union decreased by 5.5 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2012, with the output for 2012 is estimated to have decreased by almost five percent.
EUROFER stated that demand for steel tubes in the EU suffered from the gradual weakening in activity in its key client sectors. The continued slump in the construction sector and deteriorating operating conditions in other sectors such as the automotive industry and the metal goods sector translated into smaller tonnages of precision tubes, small and medium-sized welded steel tubes as well as hollow sections being sold.
At the country level, output in Poland and Slovakia increased for the full year 2012, whereas France, Spain and Sweden registered a sharp decline in output. Large diameter steel tube consumption from pipeline projects was affected by the delay in the start-up of several large projects across Europe.
According to EUROFER, in 2013 EU steel tube output is forecast to stabilize around 2012 levels. For 2014, a mild rebound is expected in activity for the key tube consuming sectors in combination with some restocking in the distribution chain, resulting in a rise of approximately three percent in EU steel tube output.