Energy consumption of the iron and steel industry is examined in seven countries (Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Poland and the United States) for the period 1980-1991, Using a decomposition analysis based on physical indicators for process type and product mix, we decompose intra-sectoral structural changes and efficiency improvements, Specific energy consumption decreased in all countries except Poland, Efficiency improvement played a key role in Brazil, China, Germany and the US, while structural changes were the main driver for energy savings in France and Japan, We also compare the use of various economic indicators to physical indicators and find that they do not track physical developments well in Poland or the developing countries we studied, In the industrialized countries, value added based energy intensity indicators generally reflect the specific energy consumption better than other economic indicators, although large differences occur in individual years, We found a smaller correlation between other economic indicators (gross output and value of shipments) and specific energy consumption, We conclude that use of physical energy intensity indicators improves comparability between countries, provides greater information for policy-makers regarding intra-sectoral structural changes, and provides detailed explanations for observed changes in energy intensity.