The downward trend in crude steel output at German mills has continued from March into April, when the volume was a massive -24% below that of April 2019, reaching 2.6 million tonnes. This was the lowest level since June 2009, Kallanish learns from the monthly statistics of steel federation WV Stahl.
Given that the automotive industry with its temporary full production stops is the customer group most affected, the fall at integrated mills was most pronounced, at -27%. Many EAF mills maintained a reasonably high production level if serving the construction industry. However, most speciality long products mills are dependent on automotive and mechanical engineering, so saw a drop of -16% in total.
For the first four months of the year, the overall output was -10% below the January-April period of 2019, totalling 12.4mt, compared with a fall of -6% in the first three months. Oxygen-route production in the first four months dropped -12%, while that of EAF mills fell by -5%.
