According to the information provided by the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl), in January this year the country's crude steel output amounted to 3.4 million metric tons, almost at the same levels as compared to the average monthly steel output volume in the last quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, the output volume in January this year is 27.7 percent higher than in January 2009.
According to WV Stahl, the upward trend of crude steel production in recent months reflects the recovery in received orders. Currently, only one blast furnace in Germany is suspended, whereas last summer the figure was six.
On the other hand, in 2009, Germany's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 29.05 million metric tons, down by 27 percent, including 18.82 million metric tons of flat steel products - down 27.9 percent, and 10.23 million metric tons of long steel products - down 25.4 percent, all compared to 2008.