Impact of structural changes on industry intensity

Structural changes have had a significant impact in intensity reduction, except for the economic crisis period.

  • To measure the impact of structural changes, i.e. changes in the contribution of each branch in industrial value added, an energy intensity at constant structure is calculated. It reflects the variation of the energy intensity assuming a constant structure of value added between the various branches, so as to leave out the influence of structural changes.
  • The difference in the variations of the intensity and the intensity at constant structure measures the effect of structural changes.
  • Since 2000, structural changes towards less energy intensive branches explain on average around 27% of the intensity decrease. The role of structural changes was greater over 2000-2007 (35%) and since 2020 (44%), compared to 2007-2020 (18%).

Intensity trends and structural changes in manufacturing (EU)