Selected research problems in the field of measuring steel use intensity in Polish industry

Purpose: This publication presents selected problems in the field of measuring the intensity of steel usage in Poland. The main goal of this work is the presentation of some problems in sectoral analysis. Design/methodology/approach: The information contained in the publication are the result of the authors' own work in the subject area of the research and may differ from information obtained from literature study, but are important for other researchers of steel use intensity because they show some problems that must be taken into account and resolved during the analysis. Findings: At the stage of implementation of steel-usage absorption analysis, research problems arise related to the access and detail of statistical data on steel consumption by individual industry sectors in Poland, as well as input-output flows of steel products and maintained inventory levels. In order to increase the reliability of the analysis, researchers must perform a more complex test procedure regarding available data/estimated data to obtain the final structure of steel consumption. Accordingly, we discovered this to be: construction - 38.9%, metal goods - 25.5%, automotive - 13.5%, machinery - 11%, home appliances - 3.8%, transport equipment - 2.4% and others - 4.9%. Practical implications: The prepared structure of steel consumption can be used to directly measure actual steel usage intensity rather than by establishing this indirectly by using statistical data alone. Originality/value: The used methodology to describe the structure of steel consumption in Polish industry is new because there are no publications about it. Moreover, the list of research questions prepared by the authors can help other experts in analyzing steel use intensity