Thyssenkrupp shuts down blast furnace in Duisburg due to weak demand and imports

German producer suspends BF9 amid structural changes in the EU and pressure from cheap imports

German steel producer Thyssenkrupp Steel has temporarily shut down blast furnace No. 9 (BF9) at its site in Duisburg-Bruichausen. The company explained this decision by weak demand for steel in Europe and growing pressure from imported products, which negatively affects the competitiveness of local production. This was reported by Fastmarkets.

«The shutdown is a response to the further consolidation of structural changes in the European steel market. Excess capacity and import competition significantly reduce the efficiency of domestic production,» said a company spokesperson.

BF9 has a capacity of about 1.7 million tons of pig iron per year. The Duisburg plant can produce up to 11.7 million tons of pig iron from four blast furnaces and about 11 million tons of steel per year. In 2024, the company already announced its intention to cut steel production by 2.5 million tons and reduce the number of jobs to 11,000 in response to the prolonged downturn in the industry.

The European flat steel market remains unstable. After a brief recovery in the summer, demand has fallen again. Despite attempts by steelmakers to raise prices for hot-rolled coil at the beginning of the fourth quarter, low end-user activity is preventing growth from taking hold.

In addition, a fire broke out over the weekend in Duisburg at the new hot rolling mill No. 4, which was launched in July after a €800 million upgrade. The fire broke out after an explosion in the furnace. The fire was quickly contained, but the furnace itself and part of the workshop were damaged. Key units – the slab casting machine and the rolling mill – remained undamaged.

The company is currently assessing the extent of the damage and the duration of the downtime, but notes that the impact of the incident on production is limited as the equipment was in the start-up phase.

Just a few days ago, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe announced a week-long production shutdown at the plant of its subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel in the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen. From mid-October, the plant is to cease operations completely, including its administrative departments. Around 1,200 employees are at risk.