German steel production drops further in October

Crude steel production in Germany was 3.323 million tonnes in October, -7% down on October 2018 which was already considered a weak month, steel association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl) tells Kallanish.

In the course of the first ten months of 2019, output totalled 33.875mt, -5% lower than in the corresponding 2018 period. 

The different production routes reduced their output to similar degrees in the ten-month comparison. In October, though, the year-on-year difference was more remarkable for oxygen-route mills, at -9%, while it dropped only -2% for EAF mills. This is in line with the more severe difficulties experienced in the automotive industry, which sources strip mainly from oxygen mills. EAFs, meanwhile, mainly feed rebar to the relatively strong construction industry.