German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp’s trading arm, Material Services, has opened a new metals logistics center in Rotenburg, Germany, the company said April 27.
The center will be part of the distribution unit Thyssenkrupp Schulte. Thyssenkrupp invested €60 ($72.5 million) million in the site.
The trading hub can handle 20,000 mt of aluminum, stainless steel and steel, and will primarily serve customers in northern Germany.
Thyssenkrupp Materials had a difficult first quarter of the company’s financial year 2020-21 (October-December 2020) as total shipments were stable year on year at 2.1 million mt, but weak demand in the aerospace industry, as well as lower stainless steel prices, hampered sales volumes. Order intake in Q1 amounted to 2.5 million mt, down 9.7% year on year.
Carbon steel is the main product in the unit’s material portfolio at 33%, followed by nonferrous metals (22%), stainless steel (18%) and raw materials (11%).
The company, however, said it was seeing improvements as an increase in volumes is expected over the course of the year.
— Laura Varriale
