Construction in the EU increased by 0.2% m/m in January

Production in the construction sector of the European Union in January 2025 increased by 0.2% compared to the previous month. Compared to January 2024, the seasonally adjusted figure also increased by 0.2%. This is evidenced by preliminary data from Eurostat.

Among the member states, the largest month-on-month increases were observed in Italy (+5.9%), Slovenia (+2.4%), Hungary and Slovakia (both +1.6%). The largest monthly drops were recorded in Sweden (-6.1%), Portugal (-4.1%) and France (-3.9%).

In January, construction of engineering structures in the EU decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous month and increased by 0.9% y/y, while the construction of buildings (residential and non-residential) increased by 1.2% m/m and 1.5% y/y.

According to the final data, in December 2024, production in the EU construction sector increased by 0.7% compared to the previous month and decreased by 0.3% y/y. The construction of engineering structures for the month increased by 0.9% m/m and y/y, and the construction of buildings (residential and non-residential) increased by 0.3% m/m and fell by 1.7% y/y.

The average annual production in construction in 2024 decreased by 1.3% compared to 2023.

The predominant stagnation in the EU construction sector has a negative impact on demand and sentiment in the domestic long products market. Since the end of 2020, construction in the European Union has been in a long period of recovery thanks to significant government support, which has boosted demand for steel products. However, since the beginning of 2023, the European construction sector has been suffering from macroeconomic problems and market uncertainty.

According to Eurofer, in 2025, the EU construction sector is expected to grow by 2% y/y. In 2024, the indicator decreased by 0.4% y/y.