Growth and Competitiveness

The competitiveness of the European chemical sector remains well below pre-crisis levels (2014-2019 average) driven by weak demand and uncompetitive energy prices. This is particularly an issue for high energy consuming, commodity products and petrochemicals, where China holds a competitive edge due to large-scale production and low production costs. Compared to the USA, European gas prices were three times higher during January-September 2025, keeping European producers at a competitive disadvantage. Since March 2022, the EU27 chemicals business environment has been facing a limited demand and declining business confidence, intensified by geopolitical uncertainty.

At 74.0% capacity utilisation in the EU27 chemical sector remains a key concern. It has consistently stayed below the EU27’s long-term average since Q2 2022, reflecting ongoing challenges from weak demand and declining business confidence. EU27 chemicals operate at 9.5% below pre-crisis capacity (2014–2019). The output of the EU27 chemical industry remains 10% below the pre-crisis levels of 2014 to 2019. As major supplier of products and technologies to key manufacturing sectors, the European chemical industry needs a strong domestic demand to achieve significant growth. Unfortunately, no strong positive changes have been observed so far and business expectations for most downstream users are still not encouraging.