The European Iron and Steel Association (Eurofer) said that due to the impact of measures to combat the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, European steel companies will face a severe situation of 75% reduction in new orders. At present, the downstream demand for steel products in Europe is extremely low. Auto companies have almost stopped production of 70% -80%, construction activities have decreased by about 40%, and other manufacturing industries have also reduced their production. 40% of the workforce will be affected by temporary layoffs and reduced working hours. Compared with steel mills in other parts of the world, European steel mills are cutting output faster. According to statistics from the World Steel Association, crude steel production in the 28 EU countries fell by 10% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, while the decline in March reached 20.4%. As new orders from steel companies decrease, crude steel output is expected to decline further.

In addition, the European Steel and Metal Distributors Association (Eurometal) recently issued a report that, due to the shutdown caused by the epidemic, European construction, machinery manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, etc. have been seriously affected, and steel consumption is expected to decline by 20% -60% . In particular, due to the suspension of production by automobile companies, the steel processing service center business decreased by approximately 20% -80%. The organization expects that steel demand may gradually recover from the beginning of May. The latest forecast is that sales will reach 55% -65% of the original plan, and the Nordic market is expected to be better than Southern Europe. Nevertheless, the association expects this year to be one of the worst years faced by steel dealers, service centers and traders.