4. Use of steels

National or regional steel consumption differs from production by the balance of imports and exports, and by indirect steel trade, which corresponds to international trade in goods containing steel. In Europe (EU-28), the balance of direct steel trade is in favor of exports (37.1 Mt vs. 32.4, in 2014), a strong trend that has been maintained for a long time. Indirect steel trade statistics are only published at global level, reaching 314.6 Mt in 2013, representing a volume equal to 78% of steel traded directly between countries and 21% of direct steel consumption (figure 3 ).