SITUATION OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY IN POLAND

The aim of this article is to present the situation of the steel industry in Poland, and to show the impact of economic conditions on this sector. The study covered the period from 2006 to 2013. The Polish steel industry underwent restructuring and was under strong influence of fluctuations caused by the economic crisis in 2009. The findings of the study indicate that steel production was strongly linked to the economic situation, measured by the rate of changes in the GDP, volume of demand and dynamics of industrial production. The only exception were hot-rolled steel products which did not indicate such a strong link. Employment was also heavily dependent on the economic situation. However, exports and imports of steel products, and the level of their consumption, were independent of the market situation. The only exception to this rule was consumption of long steel products.