German mills produced -10.4% less crude steel in March than in the corresponding month in 2019, which itself was already comparably weak, Kallanish learns from steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl.
The fall in output is even more of a concern for German steelmakers when it is recognised that February had seen a year-on-year increase, but also from a relatively low level in 2019. Crude steel production was 3.287 million tonnes in March, with finished product output dipping by -4.5% to 3.016mt. EAF mills saw a steeper fall of -13.5% in March, when in February they accounted for most of the increase, while oxygen-route production dipped by -8.8%.
In the first quarter the fall in output of crude steel was -5.6%, totalling 9.860mt. Over the three months, EAF production proved to be more stable, falling by only -1.9%, whereas oxygen-route output fell by -7.1%.
