German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung (WV) Stahl says domestic demand is currently at a “historic low” of 29 million tonnes, if extrapolated to full-year 2025.
The federation made the comments on the occasion of a preliminary release of production figures for the full year, seen by Kallanish.
From January through June, German mills produced 17.1 million tonnes of crude steel, which is 12% less than in the first half of the already “very weak year 2024”.
The decline is especially profound on the blast furnace/converter route, by around 15%, but also steep on the electric arc furnace route, WV Stahl details. It declares that “the state of the industry remains extremely tense”.
“Crude steel production is at the level it was during the financial crises of 2009,” notes Kerstin-Maria Ripple, managing director of the federation.
She reiterates the urgency of the industry’s call for political measures. These include facilitation of lower industrial power costs along with reduced grid fees, strict safeguards against imports at European level, and preference of local and emission-reduced materials in tenders for public projects.
A detailed call for these measures along with a plea for quick action was recently published by WV Stahl (see Kallanish 17 July). Rippel repeated the federation’s call to the chancellor and the Federal Council to arrange a national steel summit promptly.
Christian Koehl Germany
