The outlook for the metallurgical sector at the beginning of 2026 is complex, but optimistic. As can be seen from the 15th Economic Confidence Report on the Metallurgical Sector, prepared by the Spanish Confederation of Metal Business Organizations (CONFEMETAL), companies in the sector are facing the year with growth prospects. This is despite an environment marked by rising costs and the loss of dynamism in the foreign sector.
This study offers a fairly clear view of how the metallurgical sector business community perceives its activity in terms of turnover, employment, exports and operating expenses. A summary is given below:
1. Turnover growth above expectations
The metal’s sector is forecasting a 61.4% increase in turnover despite external pressures. This forecast, according to the Industry Talks portal, shows that companies maintain a high level of confidence in demand and in the sector's production capacity.
2. Positive employment trend
Metalworking companies continue to show a favourable outlook for employment. The sector expects to maintain and even improve employment levels in 2026, despite economic uncertainty and rising logistics, energy and raw material costs.
This resilience of the labour market confirms the strategic importance of the metallurgical sector within industrial activity.
3. Weakness of the foreign sector and fall in exports
One of the weaknesses highlighted by the report is the performance of the foreign sector. Exports closed 2025 declining, with an index of 43.1 points. Although a slight improvement is expected (to 46.1 points), the trend will remain negative during the first months of the year.
These figures confirm that lower international demand and global competition continue to limit the export capacity of companies in the sector.
4. Rising costs: the most immediate challenge
Despite the expected growth in turnover, metallurgical companies continue to face a significant increase in costs, as CONFEMETAL points out in its report.
According to sources consulted by the entity (under whose umbrella are grouped up to 78 associations representing more than 220,000 companies), the most significant increases affect energy, transport, raw materials and the general logistics of the production process.
This pressure is one of the factors most affecting profitability and could limit growth margins in 2026.
A combination of cautiousness and cautious optimism
All these indicators paint a picture in which optimism, in terms of turnover and employment, is mixed with caution in the face of falling exports and rising costs.
All this indicates that the sector remains resilient, but must focus on achieving greater efficiency, digitizing and adopting competitive strategies to maintain its pace of growth in an uncertain global context.
You can read the full report here
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