Market evolution: Helical springs (CN 732020) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the EU's external trade in helical springs of iron or steel (Customs classification 732020) over the period 2015–2025. The product family encompasses coil compression springs, coil tension springs, hot-worked helical springs, and other helical springs, and is used across a wide range of industrial applications including automotive, machinery, and construction. Over the decade under review, the EU has maintained a consistent and growing trade surplus in this product category. Three major dynamics emerge from the data: a pronounced shift from volume- to value-driven growth, a fundamental re-orientation of trade partnerships driven by geopolitical disruptions, and a deepening of the EU's export specialisation in this industrial niche.

1. Strong Value Growth Masking Stagnant or Declining Volumes

The most striking feature of EU trade in helical springs over 2015–2025 is the divergence between trade values and physical volumes. While export and import values have grown substantially, the underlying quantities tell a far more subdued story — a pattern consistent with rising unit prices and a shift toward higher-value products.

EU exports grew in value but contracted in volume

Over the period, EU exports of helical springs rose from €398 million in 2015 to €574 million in 2025, an increase of 44.2%. However, export volumes fell from 80,735 tonnes to 70,456 tonnes (–12.7%). The explanation lies in a sharp increase in average export unit prices, which climbed from €4,930/tonne to €8,141/tonne (+65.1%). This signals that EU producers have moved up the value chain, exporting more specialised, higher-specification springs rather than competing on volume.

Import values and volumes both increased, but prices rose faster

EU imports grew from €221 million to €313 million (+41.3%), with volumes rising from 42,134 tonnes to 48,284 tonnes (+14.6%). Import prices increased from €5,250/tonne to €6,470/tonne (+23.2%). The fact that import prices rose less steeply than export prices is consistent with the EU sourcing more commoditised or mid-range springs from abroad while exporting premium products.

The EU trade surplus widened significantly

The trade balance improved from €177 million in 2015 to €262 million in 2025 (+47.9%). In parallel, the net import reliance deepened from –5.3% to –15.8%, meaning the EU has moved from near self-sufficiency to a position of pronounced net export capacity. The Union is not merely meeting its own demand but is increasingly serving as a supplier to global markets.

EU production value grew sharply while volume declined

Domestic EU production of helical springs followed a similar pattern: production quantity fell from 400,857 tonnes to 377,296 tonnes (–5.9%), yet production value surged from €1,425 million to €2,168 million (+52.2%). This mirrors the export trend and reinforces the interpretation that the EU's spring manufacturing sector is prioritising value over volume, likely driven by product innovation, stricter quality requirements, and a shift toward springs for high-performance applications (e.g., automotive suspension, aerospace, industrial automation).

2. A Trade Landscape Reshaped by Geopolitical Disruption and Emerging-Market Growth

The partner composition of EU helical spring trade has changed markedly over the decade. While traditional European and transatlantic relationships remain central, the data reveals the near-total collapse of trade with Russia, the rapid rise of Türkiye and India as key partners, and an increasingly diverse partner base for EU exports.

Russia: from a top-five export destination to near-zero

Perhaps the most dramatic single change in the dataset is the evolution of EU exports to the Russian Federation. In 2015, Russia imported €30.3 million worth of EU helical springs. By 2025, this had fallen to €9,095 — effectively zero. This represents a –100% decline and is clearly associated with the EU sanctions regime imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The volatility analysis confirms this as a major supply-side shock centred on 2025, with a coefficient of variation of 1.16 for Russian export flows — the highest of any partner. The loss of the Russian market forced EU exporters to redirect volumes elsewhere.

Türkiye and India emerged as high-growth export markets

Exports to Türkiye surged from €22.4 million to €55.8 million (+149.1%), making Türkiye the fastest-growing major export destination by value. Exports to India similarly grew from €19.0 million to €34.1 million (+79.5%), while exports to Mexico climbed from €16.5 million to €30.0 million (+82.0%). These three markets — Türkiye, India, and Mexico — are all characterised by rapidly expanding industrial sectors, particularly in automotive manufacturing, which is a key demand driver for helical springs. The growth is consistent with EU spring manufacturers following their automotive and machinery OEM customers as they expand production in these regions.

China's import presence in the EU tripled

On the import side, Chinese helical spring shipments to the EU grew from €19.6 million to €62.1 million (+217.4%), making China the single largest source of EU helical spring imports by 2025, overtaking Switzerland and the UK. China's coefficient of variation on imports is 0.38, indicating relatively high volatility, and a notable price shock was detected in 2022 (+16.8% price shift, abnormality score 3.1), likely related to post-pandemic supply chain pressures and rising raw material costs. Indian imports into the EU also grew from €3.4 million to €13.5 million (+301.4%), albeit from a low base.

Export concentration fell, signalling diversification

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for EU exports by value fell from 1,038 to 802 (–22.7%), indicating that the EU's export market for helical springs has become substantially more diversified. The loss of Russia as a concentrated market, combined with the rise of multiple new growth markets, has spread export risk more evenly. Import concentration (HHI) remained higher (from 1,457 to 1,384) and declined only modestly (–5.0%), suggesting that import supply chains are somewhat more concentrated — particularly on Switzerland (€66 million) and China (€62 million).

Germany remains the EU's dominant exporter

Among EU Member States, Germany accounts for over half of all exports, with shipments rising from €257 million to €303 million (+17.8%). France showed the most dramatic growth among major exporters, rising from €12.1 million to €36.4 million (+201.3%). Poland also more than doubled its export share (from €18.5 million to €37.3 million, +102.1%), reflecting its growing role in European manufacturing supply chains.

3. Deepening Specialisation and the EU's Rising Export Orientation

Beyond the headline trade figures, structural indicators reveal that the EU's helical spring sector has become significantly more export-oriented and that certain Member States have developed strong comparative advantages in specific product segments.

Export propensity and trade intensity both more than doubled

The export propensity — the share of EU production that is exported outside the EU — rose from 10.8% to 27.3% (+153.1%). Trade intensity (the ratio of extra-EU trade to production) increased from 15.7% to 36.0% (+130.2%). These are remarkably large shifts for a mature industrial product category, and they underscore the increasing global integration of the EU's spring manufacturing sector.

Czechia and Germany lead in revealed comparative advantage

The specialisation analysis for 2025 shows that Czechia has the highest normalised revealed comparative advantage (RSCA of 0.49, RCA of 2.93), with helical springs accounting for 14.1% of its total product-level exports — far above the EU average. Germany follows with an RSCA of 0.34 (RCA 2.02) and a product share of 42.8% of EU helical spring exports. Poland (RSCA 0.21), Hungary (RSCA 0.15), and Latvia (RSCA 0.11) also display positive specialisation. At the other end, Mediterranean and smaller economies such as Cyprus (RSCA –0.99), Greece (RSCA –0.97), and Ireland (RSCA –0.95) have negligible involvement in this product.

Product segments reveal structural shifts in demand

The product segment breakdown provides further nuance. Coil compression springs (CN 73202081) remain the largest segment by both import and export value. On the export side, compression springs grew from €204 million to €364 million (+78.4%), while their volume rose from 27,952 tonnes to 35,539 tonnes (+27.1%), and unit prices climbed from €7,306/t to €10,239/t (+40.1%). This confirms the broader value-over-volume trend.

Hot-worked helical springs (CN 73202020) tell a different story: export volumes fell sharply from 33,034 tonnes to 20,005 tonnes (–39.4%), while value declined from €95.0 million to €75.5 million (–20.5%). This segment appears to be contracting, possibly due to substitution by cold-formed springs or a shift in the automotive industry toward lighter, more precisely engineered components.

Coil tension springs (CN 73202085) showed the most volatile trajectory: export volumes peaked at 24,498 tonnes in 2021 before collapsing to 4,630 tonnes in 2025, while unit prices spiked to €8,486/t — suggesting a possible data anomaly or a sudden market reconfiguration. On the import side, the category labelled "other helical springs" (CN 73202089) has been steadily growing in both volume (from 10,315t to 18,221t, +76.6%) and value (from €58.0 million to €111.3 million, +92.0%), indicating rising demand for specialised non-standard spring types.

Conclusion

Over the decade 2015–2025, the EU's trade in helical springs has undergone a fundamental transformation. The Union has strengthened its position as a net exporter, with a growing trade surplus reaching €262 million by 2025. This growth has been driven not by volume — which has been flat or declining — but by a decisive shift toward higher-value, more specialised products, as evidenced by the 65.1% increase in average export unit prices. EU production has followed the same pattern, with value rising 52.2% even as output volumes declined by 5.9%.

Geopolitical events have redrawn the trade map. The near-complete cessation of exports to Russia (from €30 million to effectively zero) has been more than offset by rapid growth in exports to Türkiye (+149%), India (+80%), and Mexico (+82%). Meanwhile, China's presence in the EU import market has more than tripled, raising questions about future competitive dynamics. The sector has become substantially more export-oriented, with export propensity rising from under 11% to over 27% of production.

Looking ahead, the data suggests that the EU's competitive advantage in helical springs lies increasingly in high-specification, high-value products — a position supported by the strong specialisation of Germany, Czechia, and Poland. The key risks include growing import competition from China, potential supply chain concentration (Switzerland and China now together account for a large share of imports), and the volatility inherent in emerging-market export destinations.