在德国钢铁协会(VDEh)的欧洲钢铁档案室中登记了大约有2000个钢种。这些钢种中的大多数已标准化,已归入欧洲标准的钢种所占比例在逐渐增加。这样一大批钢种以及无数各种各样的钢铁制品在钢铁贸易中,在钢铁生产厂家和钢铁用户之间的接触中均需要一种统一的钢号。这种钢号不仅在欧共体市场内,而且在世界范围内的钢制品贸易中均很需要。国际钢铁协会在近年的报告中指出,钢铁生产国大约有30％的钢制品要向外出口。 There are about 2,000 steel grades registered in the European Steel Archive of the German Steel Association (VDEh). Most of these steels have been standardized and the proportion of steels that have been classified as European standards is gradually increasing. Such a large number of steel grades, as well as innumerable varieties of steel products, require a uniform steel number in the steel trade in the contacts between steel producers and steel users. This steel is needed not only in the EC market but also in the world trade in steel products. In recent years, the International Iron and Steel Institute has pointed out that about 30% of steel products from steel-producing countries are exported.