According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2013-2014/Q2 2013 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), the total steel tube output in the European Union is estimated to have decreased by one percent year on year in the first quarter of 2013, following the six percent decrease in 2012.
EUROFER stated that business conditions in the key user segments of steel tubes are set to remain lackluster for the greater part of 2013. Small and medium-sized welded tube demand will be affected negatively by the continued contraction in activity in the construction and automotive industry and metal goods sector. Likewise, slowing automotive and engineering output will limit demand for precision tubes.
At the country level, while Germany and France registered an increase in output in the first quarter, production in Spain and Poland decreased sharply. EUROFER said that the prospects for the remaining quarters of 2013 are rather uncertain. As far as demand for large diameter steel tubes is concerned, the start-up of several large pipeline projects, connecting eastern European production sites and western and central European transport hubs, is now expected for the second half of this year. It remains to be seen when the actual sourcing of steel tubes will begin.
According to EUROFER, in 2013 EU steel tube output is expected to decline by 1.5-2 percent. For 2014, improving activity in the key tube consuming sectors in combination with inventory replenishment in the distribution chain is foreseen to result in a rise in output of almost 2.5 percent.