According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2014-2015/Q4 2014 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), EU steel tube output increased by 3.6 percent year on year in the second quarter of the current year. In the given period, steel tube production in Germany, France, Spain and Sweden contracted, while production in Italy, the UK and in most central European countries registered increases on year-on-year basis.
EUROFER stated that in the third quarter steel tube production by EU countries is forecast to see stagnation in growth due to booked orders for the supply of tubes for the first stretch of the South Stream pipeline project coming into full production, with some tonnages already manufactured in the second quarter. However, it is expected that the project will particularly support output growth in Germany until mid-2015.
According to EURFOER, EU production of steel tubes is expected to increase by almost four percent in 2015, with the support of new projects coming on stream in North America and the Middle East.