Skip to main content

Europe’s bitumen demand sees growth

Europe has a strong demand for bitumen, with road construction being a key driver. This is clear from new data from Eurobitume. Its newly-released report, 2016 Eurobitume Bitumen Consumption Statistics for Europe, shows that in 2016 the European market for bitumen saw 11,274 million tonnes of the material being used. Of note was that bitumen consumption in France during 2016 was around 100,000 tonnes than in 2015. This reveals a recovery in activity, which has been confirmed by key players in the national
October 31, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Europe has a strong demand for bitumen, with road construction being a key driver. This is clear from new data from Eurobitume. Its newly-released report, 2016 7701 Eurobitume Bitumen Consumption Statistics for Europe, shows that in 2016 the European market for bitumen saw 11,274 million tonnes of the material being used. Of note was that bitumen consumption in France during 2016 was around 100,000 tonnes than in 2015. This reveals a recovery in activity, which has been confirmed by key players in the national road industry and by the French Road Manufacturers Professional Association (USIRF) in their annual report.

Eurobitume Director General Aimé Xhonneux said, “The members of Eurobitume France are pleased with this situation, which follows Eurobitume taking an active part in communicating with the main stakeholders and creating a positive environment for a sustained bitumen demand.”

Road construction drives the market for bitumen use. Around 93% of all the bitumen supplied during 2016 was directed towards road paving applications.
A table illustrating the consumption breakdown across Europe is available from the Eurobitume website. The data is presented by country/region and provides a representative indication of the total consumption across all grades of bitumen. Consumption is reported by country where at least four suppliers have provided data. Where fewer than four suppliers responded, country figures are grouped together.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • AfPA appoints new chairman, Dante Cremasco
    May 20, 2022
    Cremasco, head of road services at integrated services provider Downer, takes over during a difficult time for Australian infrastructure contracts due to rapidly rising material costs.
  • Cheaper, greener and less smelly; it’s all about the additives
    August 20, 2015
    The demand for bitumen additives is set to increase. Kristina Smith reports on some of the companies who are preparing to meet that increased demand. The variation in quality and composition of bitumen around the world is something that has been well-documented in these pages. Processing technologies for crude oil are changing, the way bitumen is traded is changing, and the final result can be a product that may not be all it seems – or huge variations from one shipment to another. Help is at hand, however,
  • CECE Summit 2018: Single-minded towards a single market
    November 22, 2017
    This year’s theme at the CECE Summit in Brussels was Industry and Politics: a historic transformation process The EU’s internal market must become truly a single market as well as a digital one. But there are storm clouds on the horizon. Europe’s single market is either threatened by political events of the past several years or about to become more secure because of it. That was the nub of an impassioned economic forum panel discussion.
  • Sustainable Construction with Topcon
    February 7, 2024
    Michael Gomes, vice president of sustainability and corporate social responsibility at Topcon, talks to Mike Woof, editor of World Highways magazine, about the use of technology to deliver sustainability in road construction.