Cefic’s 2024 Facts & Figures report reinforces the need to take bold and urgent action to secure Europe’s industrial future, not only to implement the Green Deal but also to prevent further de-industrialisation in Europe. These figures underpin the messages of the Antwerp Declaration, launched in February 2024, which calls to restore the business case for investments in Europe in order to implement the EU Green Deal and safeguard high quality jobs for European workers in Europe.
Europe is currently at a competitive disadvantage compared to the USA, China and the Middle East due to high energy, regulatory, labour and feedstock costs. Coupled with limited global demand growth and high capital spending in other regions, the global chemical market is increasingly competitive and Europe pays the high price.
EU27 capacity utilisation remains well below historical average, Europe maintains a positive trade balance but exports are not growing at the same pace as the global market, and we observe a shift of manufacturing to regions in Asia, with China outpacing all others.
Since data speaks louder than words, we invite you to look at our graphs, which provide a more granular view of the current market trends and economic conditions of our industry.
Disclaimer:
For the sake of data integrity, figures within Cefic’s Facts & Figures publications are compiled and updated on a regular basis from public statistical sources (Eurostat, EU Commission, European Environmental Agency, …). These sources regularly review their previous years’ data and at times retroactively amend it. As a result of these updates, the comparison of annual Cefic Facts & Figures editions is not necessarily consistent over time.