Source: CAEF

The current year is marked by the Covid-19 pandemic in all economic and social aspects in Europe and around the world. In spring, the sites of many foundries as well as of their suppliers and clients were often completely shut down for several weeks in numerous European countries. After production has restarted around summer with great efforts and adapted hygiene concepts, the number of Covid-19 cases is rising sharply again towards the end of the year and threatens to put a heavy strain on economic recovery.

A question often asked during the crisis is: When will the pre-crisis level be reached?

Just as often as the question was asked, the answers have been revised and updated during the dynamic development. While we deal with the consequences of the crisis on a daily basis, the CAEF Yearbook 2019 provides a review. In order to answer the question raised here, it is not enough to simply look into the future, we must also know where we come from.

For the European foundry industry, the CAEF Yearbook presents an overview of relevant data in unique depth and scope. A glance at the data shows that climate policy is more important than ever and that the structural changes that the manufacturing industry is experiencing in this context have already affected European foundries before the current crisis. While European production of non-ferrous metals fell by 3.0% overall, production of iron, ductile iron and steel castings fell by 6.0% compared to 2018.

The fact that the current crisis is additionally burdening the European foundry industry in this structural change is a great challenge. Balanced political framework conditions are crucial to help foundries to emerge stronger from the transformation process, which is gathering momentum, as an important cornerstone of the circular economy and an innovative component of the manufacturing industry.

Source: CAEF