According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2019-2020/Q1 2019 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total EU exports of steel products to third countries fell by 10 percent year on year over the first 11 months of 2018.
EUROFER said that, while finished product exports had registered a slight decrease of two percent year on year over the first half of 2018, the reduction in export volumes was more striking in the second half of the year due to the combined effects of globally-imposed trade restrictions and the slowing growth of global steel demand. Exports fell by 18 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2018 and by a similar rate over the October-November period.
In the January-November period of 2018, exports to the US fell by three percent year on year and to Turkey by 29 percent year on year. The fact that the decline in EU exports to the US remained relatively mild reflects the loyal customer base of EU steel producers in that market owing to the specific value proposition of their products and services for which the majority of customers have apparently been willing to pay extra.
EUROFER stated that the marked rise in imports and the continued drop in exports resulted in a deepening of the EU’s trade deficit from an annualized 9.9 million mt in 2017 to 17.4 million mt in 2018.