Exclusive Germany reduced steel production by 6.4% y/y in May

The indicator has been declining for the fifth consecutive month in annual comparison

According to the results of May 2025, German steel enterprises reduced steel production by 6.4% compared to the same month in 2024, to 2.98 million tons. Compared to the previous month, the indicator increased by 1.1%. The indicator has been declining for the fifth month in a row in annual comparison. This is evidenced by data from the German Steel Industry Association WVStahl.

Steel production in oxygen furnaces amounted to 1.94 million tons, which is 13.1% less year-on-year and 3.2% month-on-month, and in electric arc furnaces – 1.04 thousand tons (+9.3% year-on-year; +10.2% month-on-month).

Pig iron production in Germany in May decreased by 9.8% compared to May 2024 and by 1.5% compared to April, to 1.83 million tons. Hot-rolled steel production increased by 0.5% y-o-y and decreased by 6.7% m-o-m – to 2.66 million tons.

In January-May 2025, Germany’s metallurgical industry reduced steel production by 10.8% y-o-y to 14.43 million tons. Oxygen converters produced 9.7 million tons of steel (-14.2% y-o-y), and electric arc furnaces produced 4.73 million tons (-2.9% y-o-y). Pig iron production fell by 13.7% y-o-y to 9.01 million tons in the first five months of the year. Rolled steel production decreased by 8.3% y-o-y – to 12.79 million tons.

«Steel production in Germany remains under pressure. In May, there was a further decline in output, especially in oxygen converter routes. On the other hand, electric steel production showed growth for the first time this year, albeit due to a low base of comparison. The overall trend for the first months of the year remains negative,» Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl noted.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Germany is among the world’s ten largest steel producers according to World Steel. At the end of 2024, the country increased its steel production by 5.2% compared to 2023, to 37.23 million tons. Pig iron production for the year amounted to 24.33 million tons (+2.9% y-o-y), and hot-rolled steel production amounted to 31.61 million tons (+3% y-o-y).

Despite the growth in steel production, smelting volumes remained below the 40 million tonne mark for the third consecutive year, which corresponds to the level of recession, WVStahl notes.