The steel market in France

The steel industry represents all the techniques and industries involved in the manufacture of iron and iron alloys. It is an essential sub-field of metallurgy, which studies the manufacture of metals in general.

The world's biggest steel producers are China, which will dominate global production with more than half of global output in 2020 (928.3 Mt ), followed by Indiaindia (106.5 Mt) andjapan (104.3 Mt). China's dominance can be explained by the fact that the country is rapidly urbanizing, and that demand for steel is high in the construction sector, for example, but also by the fact that the Chinese government is actively implementing strategies aimed at consolidating its position as the world's leading producer.

For its part, the European Union produces around 160 million tonnesof finished steel per year.

The steel industry and the iron ore and coal mining industries, which supply its main raw materials, have historically been highly cyclical highly cyclical. They are strongly affected by general economic conditions, consumer trends as well as global production capacity and fluctuations in international trade steel trade and customs duties. This is due to the cyclical nature of the automotive, construction, machinery & equipment and transport industries, which are the main consumers of steel.

As defined by INSEE, the steel industry in France comprises :

production of pig iron and spiegeleisen in pigs, brines or other forms

production of ferroalloys

production of ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ores and other spongy ferrous products

production of exceptionally pure iron by electrolysis and other chemical processes

the production of iron or steel ingot scrap

the production of iron pellets and powders

production of steel ingots and other primary forms

production of steel semi-finished products

the manufacture of flat-rolled steel products obtained by hot and cold rolling

manufacture of hot-rolled steel bars

manufacture of hot-rolled steel open sections

production of steel sheet piling and welded open sections

manufacture of unassembled rail track components in steel

At2022,one ofmajor challengeschallenges for the steel industryrising steel prices in Europemost of these are the result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict underway since February 2022.