Germany reduced steel output by 8.8% y/y in October

Pig iron production in the country fell by 4.7% y/y

German steelmakers reduced steel production by 8.8% in October 2023 compared to October last year, to 2.88 million tons. The figure decreased by 0.9% compared to the previous month. This was reported by the German steel association WV Stahl.

Steel production in converters for the month decreased by 3.1% y/y and 1.6% m/m – to 2.08 million tons, and in electric arc furnaces (EAF) – fell by 20.9% y/y and increased by 1% m/m – up to 799 thousand tons. Pig iron production in Germany in October decreased by 4.7% y/y and 3.1% m/m – to 1.86 million tons. Rolled steel output amounted to 2.52 million tons, down 2.2% y/y and 6.9% m/m.

In January-October, German steelmakers reduced steel production by 4.1% compared to the same period in 2022, to 30.12 million tons in particular:

• in converters – 21.7 million tons (-0.2% y/y);
• in EAF – 8.4 million tons (-12.9% y/y).

Pig iron smelting during the period fell by 0.4% y/y – to 19.94 million tons. Rolled steel production decreased by 4.7% y/y, to 26.07 million tons.

«Steel production continues to be burdened by high energy prices and low demand. In the first 10 months, production was about 4% below the corresponding period of the previous year, in October the decline accelerated to almost 9%. The situation is becoming more and more difficult, especially for the energy-intensive production of electrical steel: production here fell by almost 13% during the year,» comments WV Stahl.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Germany is among the ten largest steel producers in the world according to World Steel. In 2022, the country reduced output of steel by 8.4% compared to 2021 – up to 36.8 million tons, taking 7th place in the world ranking of producing countries.