Apparent steel use in the European Union is forecast to grow by 4.9 percent year on year to 151.8 million mt in 2011, on the back of an export-driven industrial rebound, according to the short-range outlook released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel). In 2010, the apparent steel use in the EU was 144.8 million mt, with a year-on-year increase of 21.2 percent.
This year, the largest eurozone economies like Germany and France are forecast to enjoy solid recovery in steel use mainly in the automotive and machine building sectors, while other economies, including Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are projected to show slow growth in steel use particularly as a result of weak construction activity.
In 2012, the region is predicted to see an increase of 3.7 percent to 157.5 million mt in its apparent steel use, bringing it back to 80 percent of the 2007 peak.