In May this year, Germany's crude steel output increased by 5.8 percent month on month to 3.92 million metric tons, rising by 7.3 percent compared to May 2013, according to the information provided by the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). Meanwhile, in the first five months of the current year, the country's crude steel output increased by 4.9 percent year on year to 18.92 million metric tons.
On the other hand, in April this year, Germany's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 3.06 million metric tons, indicating a decrease of 3.9 percent, including 1.99 million metric tons of flat steel products - down 4.1 percent, and 1.07 million metric tons of long steel products - down 3.5 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in the first four months this year, Germany's total hot rolled steel production amounted to 12.44 million metric tons, decreasing by 1.1 percent, including 8.22 million metric tons of flat steel products - down one percent, and 4.21 million metric tons of long steel products - down 1.3 percent, all on-year-on year basis.
According to WV Stahl, crude steel production in Germany is currently supported by several particular factors, so that the gains achieved so far in 2014 cannot be extrapolated to the year. The slight year-on-year drop in hot rolled steel product output in the first four months of 2014 over the previous year can be also seen within this frame. The recovery of the steel industry remains fragile despite an overall upward trend in the major German steel manufacturing industries.