In the first quarter of 2013, new orders in the German steel market increased five percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). According to the federation, this reflects the fact that after the sharp destocking in the fourth quarter of 2012 steel traders and processors have partially replenished their stocks.
However, in the first quarter, rolled steel orders in Germany fell around five percent year on year, to 9.8 million metric tons. The reduced demand was seen especially from foreign markets (down 11.3 percent year on year and falling by 7.3 percent quarter on quarter), totaling 3.5 million metric tons, while domestic demand decreased by one percent year on year to 6.3 million metric tons.
German rolled steel deliveries in the first quarter rose by 14.7 percent to 9.5 million metric tons compared to the previous quarter and were down two percent from the same quarter of the previous year.