EU apparent steel consumption grew three percent year on year in the first half of 2016, while in the second half of the year, EU apparent steel consumption stabilized around the year-earlier level, according to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2017-2018/Q1 2017 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER). Total apparent consumption in 2016 is estimated to have risen by 1.8 percent compared to 2015.
The report stated that the key concern for EU steel producers is that the gradual recovery of demand in their home markets will be absorbed by third-country suppliers violating fair competition practices. As long as a structural solution of the underlying problem of global excess capacity is lacking, remedial measures to restore fair trade conditions for the EU steel sector may be needed.
According to EUROFER, steel demand is forecast to continue to grow at a modest rate in 2017 and 2018, owing to the expected ongoing recovery of real steel consumption and a mildly positive impact of the stock cycle.