Germany increased steel production by 4.8% y/y in February

In February 2026, German steelmakers increased steel production by 4.8% y/y – to 2.83 million tons. Compared to the previous month, production fell by 8.1%. This is according to data from the German Steel Association (WV Stahl).

Last month, 1.97 million tons of steel were produced in basic oxygen furnaces (+7.3% y/y; -10.9% m/m), and 860,000 tons in electric arc furnaces (-0.4% y/y; -1% m/m).

Pig iron production in February rose by 6.1% y/y but fell by 11.3% month-on-month to 1.8 million tons. Hot-rolled steel production increased by 8.3% y/y – to 2.56 million tons, matching the previous month’s figure.

In the first two months of this year, steel output in Germany totaled 5.91 million tons (+9.9% y/y). However, as noted by the industry association, despite this positive trend, production levels remain below the long-term average.

As a reminder, in 2025, Germany reduced steel production by 8.6% compared to 2024, down to 34.09 million tons. Last year, 23.64 million tons of steel were produced in basic oxygen furnaces (-10.7% y/y), and 10.44 million tons in electric arc furnaces (-3.5% y/y). Pig iron production over the 12-month period fell by 10.1% y/y, to 21.87 million tons. Rolled steel production decreased by 5.5% y/y, to 29.76 million tons.