Steel industry in Europe - statistics & facts

Global crude steel production reached roughly 1.96 billion metric tons in 2021, of which some 10 percent were attributed to Europe’s output. The European Union was the second major producing region that same year, with China dwarfing all other countries and making up over half of the world’s production. The crude steel production in the EU was at one of its lowest levels in 2021, partly due to the shifting global trade and markets. Europe was home to some of the world's oldest and largest steel companies, such as ArcelorMittal, headquartered in Luxembourg City. With an output of over 79 million metric tons in 2021, ArcelorMittal was the second largest steel producer worldwide, behind the China Baowu Group.

European Union steel industry

The history of industrial steel production in Europe dates back as early as the 19th century in some European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Like many other regions, crude steel production was closely linked to coal production. However, one of Europe’s largest steel producers, Italy, was a world pioneer in the development of electric furnaces in the 20th century. This technique is still used in steel making with steel scraps. The steel industry employed over 308,675 people in the European Union in 2021, with Germany boasting the largest workforce at around 81,500 workers. This was more than double the steel industry employment in Italy, which was second in the ranking. Germany was also the leading exporter of semi-finished and finished steel products in the EU over the past decade, with export volumes reaching around 24 million metric tons. Furthermore, Turkey, with its crucial automotive manufacturing sector, was the leading importer of European steel in 2021.

COVID-19 and broader international market impact

Cheaper steel production in other countries has undercut the European steel industry. Since Europe has maintained a high steel demand, the European Union is among the world's leading importers of steel products. Increased competition led to the collapse of many European steel producers in the 1950s, and the oil crisis of 1973 and the 1980s recession led to a further decline in the European steel industry. At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 crisis led to a further reduction in steel production worldwide. Hot rolled flat steel, the most popular finished steel product in Europe in terms of production output, dipped by some 11.5 percent between 2019 and 2020 due to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the manufacturing industry and metal demand. ArcelorMittal, the market leader, recorded a drop of almost a quarter of its 2019 revenue in 2020, with sales dipping to just over 53 billion U.S. dollars. Even though the steel industry uprose in 2021, with a 16 percent increase in production year-on-year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spiking energy prices, and Europe’s troubling inflation problem opened up a new challenging phase for the European steel market. In 2022, crude steel production in the European Union decreased by approximately 11 percent compared to the previous year. Furthermore, Europe’s major steel manufacturer Germany experienced an eight percent drop year-on-year.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 21, 2023

Key insights

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482 USD/mt
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