According to a press release published by Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (RWI), a leading centre for economic research and evidence-based policy advice in Germany, the German steel industry has developed positively over the past months. In the first six months of this year, crude steel production rose by 1.7 percent year on year.
The economic upturn in Germany is expected to continue this year and next year. The more vigorous investment activity is likely to lead to an increase in the demand for steel. Since the capacities of the German steel industry are already well utilized, however not sufficient to meet domestic demand, as a result, imports of rolled steel are expected to accelerate. The steel exports are also likely to rise, although probably slower than imports. Against this background, the production of rolled steel products is expected to continue to grow in this and next year, but more slowly than in the first months of this year. RWI expects crude steel production to increase 1.5 percent year on year to 42.7 million mt in 2017. In 2018, it is expected to rise again to 43.1 million mt.
The global steel industry has also been on the rise since the spring of 2016, with crude steel production reaching a new peak. Although the utilization of global production capacities has thus improved, the utilization rate remains low at 72 percent. In the meantime, rising steel prices and the increasing capacity utilization have somewhat improved the margins of steel producers. However, the raw materials for steel production such as scrap, iron ore and coking coal have also become noticeably more expensive.