German steel sales fall 18% on month in August as weak demand persists

German steel distribution sales totaled 727,529 metric tons in August, down 17.8% from July and 2.7% below the same period a year ago, while stocks held steady at just under 1.92 million mt, broadly stable month on month, according to data sent to Platts by the German steel distribution association BDS on Sept. 24.

The monthly sales decline was broad-based across all product categories.

Flat products, which account for the largest share of distribution volumes, fell by 18.4% month on month to 414,052 mt in August and down by 5.6% year over year. Sales of long products declined to 250,106 mt in August from 293,272 mt in July, a fall of 14.7% month on month.

On a year-on-year basis, however, longs bucked the trend, rising 5.7% from 236,714 mt in August 2025, the only product category to record a year-on-year sales increase.

The others category — which includes tubes and other specialty steel products — was the weakest performer, slipping to 63,371 mt in August, down by 24.9% month on month and down by 12.3% year on year.

The data pointed to continued weak demand in one of Europe’s largest steel-consuming markets, with overall stable inventories alongside falling sales.

Total stocks at German distributors stood at 1,921,832 mt at the end of August, up just 0.1% month on month and up by 3.1% year on year.

Flat product inventories declined by 0.8% month over month to 1,251,363 mt, though they rose by 5.7% year on year. Longs stocks increased to 632,508 mt from 620,140 mt in July, a rise of 2% month on month, though they were 2.4% below 647,894 mt a year earlier. Stocks in the others category were broadly stable at 37,961 mt, virtually unchanged from July, but up by 15.5% year on year

Author: Annalisa Villa

spglobal.com