The EU steel tube industry is expected to recover only gradually in the coming years, with output forecast to rise by 0.2% in 2025, followed by 0.8% growth in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027.
In the third quarter of 2025, EU tube industry output increased by 3.8% year-on-year, marking the first expansion after six consecutive quarterly declines, Kallanish learns from the Eurofer 2026 outlook.
However, the industry’s outlook remains constrained by structural shifts in energy markets. Demand from the oil and gas sector is not expected to improve substantially as the EU continues shifting from pipeline gas to liquefied natural gas imports, reducing the need for new pipeline infrastructure.
As a result, future growth in tube demand is expected to rely increasingly on the construction sector, while demand from automotive and mechanical engineering is forecast to remain relatively subdued.
Meanwhile, the tubes and pipes sector has struggled in recent years. Steel tube output declined by 1.4% in 2023 and fell further by 2.4% in 2024 amid weak industrial demand, supply chain disruptions and war-related impacts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
