According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2024-2025/Q3 2024 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the first quarter of 2024 apparent steel consumption in the EU-27 amounted to 31.9 million mt, down by 3.1 percent year on year, after a 2.9 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The association stated that in 2024 apparent steel consumption is set to recover at a slower rate of 1.4 percent, compared to the 3.2 percent increase in the previous guidance, conditional on more favorable developments in the industrial outlook and an improvement in steel demand. However, in 2025, apparent steel consumption will gain some speed, albeit at a slower rate at 4.1 percent, compared to the previous forecast of 5.6 percent.
Steel demand remains subject to very high uncertainty. It is anticipated that apparent steel consumption will show some moderate improvement over the next quarters of 2024, albeit resulting in volumes still below pre-pandemic levels.
In the first quarter, the output of steel-using sectors declined by 1.9 percent year on year due to a continued downturn in the construction, mechanical engineering, domestic appliance and metalware sectors, after increasing by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In addition, domestic deliveries in the EU fell by 5.7 percent year on year in the given quarter, after a 1.3 percent increase in the previous quarter.