Impact of structural changes on industry intensity

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

  • Structural changes, i.e. changes in the contribution of each branch in industrial value added, have an impact on the energy intensity variation.
  • To measure the impact of structural changes, 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 30% of the intensity decrease. The role of structural changes was greater over 2000-2007 (46%) and since 2014 (32%).

Intensity trends and structural changes in manufacturing (EU)