European Steel Association EUROFER in latest Economic & Steel Market Outlook 2023-24 has outlined that European construction industry in the EU, the biggest steel using segment, has improved substantially after the lows experienced during pandemic, almost reaching 2018 levels in the course of 2021. EUROFER said “However, since February 2022 supply chain issues and the overall deterioration of the economic and industrial outlook have been starting to impact the sector. Confidence has also been declining from then on. Nonetheless, overall construction activity should continue to benefit, albeit at rather low rates, from governmental housing supporting schemes, as well as from public construction schemes. Their impact is expected to ease substantially in the course of 2023.EUROFER said “Construction output fell in 2020 down 4.8% due to the pandemic, and then rebounded in 2021 by 6.5%. The outlook for 2022 forecasts lower growth than previously estimated at 4.4%, reflecting a combination of bullish developments in the first half of the year and a considerable slowdown in the second. This negative trend is expected to worsen over the next three quarters, due to the long-lasting impact of rising prices, increasing scarcity of construction materials, and a shortage of construction workers. The overall economic slowdown due to the ongoing war in Ukraine is also expected to weigh on the construction sector, with drops between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023.”
European Steel Association EUROFER in latest Economic & Steel Market Outlook 2023-24 has outlined that European construction industry in the EU, the biggest steel using segment, has improved substantially after the lows experienced during pandemic, almost reaching 2018 levels in the course of 2021. EUROFER said “However, since February 2022 supply chain issues and the overall deterioration of the economic and industrial outlook have been starting to impact the sector. Confidence has also been declining from then on. Nonetheless, overall construction activity should continue to benefit, albeit at rather low rates, from governmental housing supporting schemes, as well as from public construction schemes. Their impact is expected to ease substantially in the course of 2023.EUROFER said “Construction output fell in 2020 down 4.8% due to the pandemic, and then rebounded in 2021 by 6.5%. The outlook for 2022 forecasts lower growth than previously estimated at 4.4%, reflecting a combination of bullish developments in the first half of the year and a considerable slowdown in the second. This negative trend is expected to worsen over the next three quarters, due to the long-lasting impact of rising prices, increasing scarcity of construction materials, and a shortage of construction workers. The overall economic slowdown due to the ongoing war in Ukraine is also expected to weigh on the construction sector, with drops between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023.”
