European Union direct-reduced iron imports plunged 68 percent year-on-year in January–February 2026, reflecting weaker steelmaker procurement and structural delays in DRI-EAF conversions.
The data follows ArcelorMittal’s halt of €1.3 billion in DRI-EAF investments at Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt earlier in the year.
Despite this, the structure of supplies continued to evolve. The EU increasingly replaced Russian deliveries with shipments from Venezuela, the United States, and Libya. However, full replacement has not yet been achieved; even in 2025, Russia remained one of the largest suppliers of DRI to the EU market. As of 2026, imports of Russian DRI/HBI have been completely halted, meaning the European market’s shift toward alternative suppliers is expected to intensify further.
Why it matters for green steel: Plummeting DRI imports signal that European mills’ hydrogen-DRI plans are slipping further behind announced schedules, with scrap-based EAF capacity filling the immediate gap.