Steel mills in Germany are expected to reduce their scrap consumption by 5% y/y in 2025

In 2025, Germany reduced its consumption of scrap steel to its lowest level since 2009

German steel mills reduced their scrap consumption by 5% year-over-year last year, down to 15.7 million tons. This is the lowest level since the financial and economic crisis of 2009. This was reported by SteelOrbis, citing data from the German Steel Processing Association (BDSV) and the German Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management (BVSE).

Approximately 3.4 million tons of scrap were used in the production of pig iron, steel, and malleable castings, which is nearly 8% less compared to 2024. Since statistics on steel processing began in 1980, scrap consumption by foundries has fallen to a historic low.

The decline in scrap usage correlates with the overall drop in production in the German steel industry. Last year, the country produced 34.1 million tons of steel, which is 9% less than the previous year.

According to data from the BDSV and BVSE, scrap metal purchases by German plants in 2025 decreased by approximately 670,000 tons—to 12 million tons (-5% y/y). Purchases by foundries fell by 12%—to 2.1 million tons.

Scrap imports to Germany in 2025 decreased by 9% year-over-year to 4 million tons, while exports rose by 5% to 7.7 million tons. This resulted in a net export surplus of nearly 3.7 million tons. The BVSE attributes this result to the “inevitable consequence of weak domestic demand.”

A notable feature of last year was the relative stability of electric arc furnace production compared to the traditional blast furnace method:

• although total steel production fell by 10.7%, scrap-based production volumes decreased by only 3.5%;
• the share of electric arc furnace steel in total production rose to 30.6%;
• the overall share of scrap in the charge increased to 46.2%.

It should be noted that exports of ferrous metal scrap from Germany in January–February 2026 remained at last year’s level. The total volume of shipments amounted to 1.26 million tons, and their value was €568 million ($665 million).