European Union steel production plunged to a 50-year low in 2025, while import penetration reached an all-time high of 29%, according to official data released by the European Steel Association (EUROFER) on 18 March. The figures underscore deep structural challenges facing the bloc’s producers, who continue to lose market share amid weak domestic demand, high energy and carbon costs, and fierce competition from low-cost imports.

       EU crude steel output totaled just 125.8 million tonnes in 2025, down from 130 million tonnes in 2024 and the lowest annual level since 1975. Production has fallen by roughly 60 million tonnes—over 30%—since 2018, as dozens of blast furnaces and rolling mills have closed across Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. Weakness was widespread: Germany, Europe’s biggest producer, saw output fall 4.2% year-on-year; Spain declined 11.8%; and France dropped 5.1%.

       At the same time, total steel imports rose 14% in 2025 to 42.3 million tonnes, with finished steel imports up 9% to 28.7 million tonnes. By volume, China, Turkey, Russia, and South Korea accounted for over 60% of EU imports. The surge in foreign supply pushed import penetration to 29% in the third quarter of 2025—meaning nearly three in every ten tonnes of steel consumed in the EU came from abroad—up from 24% in 2024 and just 18% in 2019.

       The EU’s steel trade deficit widened sharply to an average of 2 million tonnes per month in 2025, including 1.2 million tonnes of finished products. “These numbers are a wake-up call,” said EUROFER Director-General Axel Eggert. “Europe’s industrial base is eroding rapidly. Without stronger and faster trade safeguards, we risk losing more high-skilled jobs and critical production capacity in the months ahead.”

       While EU steel consumption is forecast to rise modestly by 1.3% in 2026, EUROFER warned the recovery will be “fragile and uneven,” driven largely by infrastructure and defense spending rather than a broad-based rebound. Most analysts expect import pressure to remain high in 2026, especially as global steel capacity continues to expand in Asia.