German crude steel production fell year on year for the first time in 2026 during July as persistently weak demand interrupted the sector’s recovery, steel industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl said Sept. 9.
Crude steel output totaled 2.68 million metric tons in July, down 1.8% from the same month of 2025. The decline was driven by the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace route, where production dropped 4% year over year to 1.83 million mt. By contrast, electric-arc furnace steel output increased 3.3% to 849,000 mt.
Pig iron production also weakened in July, falling 4.5% from a year earlier to 1.66 million mt. Hot-rolled steel production was more resilient, rising 1.4% to 2.54 million mt.
Despite the July slowdown, German steel production remained substantially above 2025 levels over the first seven months of the year. Crude steel output reached 21.31 million mt in January-July, an increase of 6.8% from the corresponding period of 2025.
Annualizing the January-July production rate would result in output of about 36.5 million mt for 2026, compared with approximately 34 million mt produced in 2025, according to the association.
The year-to-date figures showed a marked divergence between Germany’s two main steelmaking routes. Basic oxygen furnace production increased 8.5% year over year to 14.59 million mt in January-July, while electric-arc furnace output rose by a more modest 3.4% to 6.72 million mt.
Pig iron production totaled 13.29 million mt over the seven-month period, up 7.3% year over year. Production of hot-rolled steel products increased 4.2% to 18.65 million mt.
The July contraction indicates that weak demand continued to constrain Germany’s steel sector, despite the stronger cumulative production performance recorded so far in 2026.
On Sept. 8, Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed domestic hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe at €730/mt ($850/mt) ex-works Ruhr, and in Southern Europe at €720/mt ex-works Italy, both stable day over day.
Author: Annalisa Villa
