German steel production plummets in June

German steel production fell 27.3% year on year to 2.48 million tonnes in June, German steel federation WV Stahl reported on July 20.

June marks the third consecutive month of "significant" production cuts in Europe's largest steelmaking country.
“The negative consequences of the coronavirus crisis on the production of German crude steel are obvious,” V.V. Stahl.

Germany's crude steel production using blast furnaces fell 35.8% year on year in June to 1.53 million tonnes, while production using electric arc furnaces fell 7.3% to 941,000 tonnes.

In the second quarter, crude steel production declined 26% year-on-year after falling 1% in the first quarter. The total steel production in the first half of 2020 amounted to 17.46 million tonnes, which is 15.7% lower than a year earlier.

Pig iron production in June fell 34.5% to 1.45 million tonnes, increasing in the first half to 10.9 million tonnes, down 18.2 percent from the first half of 2019.

Hot rolled steel production in June fell by 29.7% to 2.1 million tonnes, down 15.1% in the first half of the year to 15.2 million tonnes.

Although steel prices in Northwest Europe are rising slowly and industrial production is recovering, the cuts in German steel mills remain pending until further notice. The summer vacation is expected to further restrict production as the mills carry out their normal maintenance work, with some shutdowns continuing due to weak demand.

Most companies throughout the steel supply chain are short-term, which means shorter shifts and government assistance to pay workers.