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BDS: German steel sales slump, stocks hit 3-year low as of Dec 2024

German total steel sales product fell 0.59% year over year in December 2024 to 462,264 mt, and down by 40.64% month over month, data from German steel stockholders’ association BDS showed on Jan. 22.

Total steel sales in Dec 2024 drop 0.59% YOY to 462,264 mt
Total steel stocks in Dec 2024 decline 3.96%YOY to 1.78 million mt

Last month, sales of the flat steel product category nearly halved to 281,045, down 40.23% from November and 3.05% from the same period in 2023, respectively.

Long sales also dropped to 136,204 mt, down from 143,297 mt in December 2023 and compared to 238,850 mt in November 2023, the data showed.

Other products stood at 45,015 mt in December 2024, down 40.9% year over year and 35.39% month over month.

The BDS data also showed that steel stocks in Germany went down year year over year and month month over month. Total German steel stocks products totalled 1.78 million mt in December 2024, slipping 3.96% compared to the same month of 2023 and down 1.54% from November 2024 to the lowest level since records started in January 2020.

Flat products decreased by 4.64% to 1.11 million mt in December, year over year, and by 2.77% month over month, respectively.

Long products stocks totaled 638,548 mt in December, down 2.10% year over year but up 0.95% month over month. The rest of the stocks under “Others” stood at 30,762 mt in December, down 6.42% compared to December 2023 and down 1.54% relative to November.

In December hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe moved sideways from Eur560/mt base ex-works Ruhr to Eur 560/mt ex-works Ruhr on Dec. 30, with prices that moved down by around Eur130/mt in 2024. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed hot-rolled coil in Northwest Europe at Eur580/mt ex-works Ruhr Jan.21, stable day over day.

Source: Annalisa Villa, S&P Global Platts(www.spglobal.com)

German translation:

BDS: German steel sales slump, inventories at 3-year low in December 2024

Total sales of steel products in Germany fell by 0.59% year-on-year to 462,264 tons in December 2024, down 40.64% on the previous month, according to data released by the German steel trade association BDS on 22 January.

Total steel sales in December 2024 fall by 0.59% year-on-year to 462,264 tons
Total inventories in December 2024 decrease by 3.96% year-on-year to 1.78 million tons

Last month, sales in the flat steel product category almost halved to 281,045 tons, a decrease of 40.23% compared to November and 3.05% compared to the same period in 2023.

Sales of long steel products also fell to 136,204 tons, down from 143,297 tons in December 2023 and 238,850 tons in November 2023.

Other products reached a volume of 45,015 tons in December 2024, a decrease of 40.9% year-on-year and 35.39% month-on-month.

The BDS data also shows that steel stocks in Germany declined both year-on-year and month-on-month. Total steel stocks amounted to 1.78 million tons in December 2024, a decrease of 3.96% compared to the same month last year and 1.54% less than in November 2024 – the lowest level since records began in January 2020.

Stocks of flat products fell by 4.64% year-on-year to 1.11 million tons in December and by 2.77% month-on-month.

Stocks of long products amounted to 638,548 tons in December, a decrease of 2.10% year-on-year, but an increase of 0.95% compared to the previous month. The remaining stocks under the “Other” category stood at 30,762 tons, 6.42% less than in December 2023 and 1.54% below the November figure.

In December, prices for hot-rolled strip in Northern Europe remained stable at EUR 560 per tonne ex works Ruhr. Over the course of 2024, however, prices fell by around EUR 130/tonne. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, valued hot-rolled strip in Northwest Europe at EUR 580/tonne ex-works Ruhr on January 21, unchanged on the day.

Source: Annalisa Villa, S&P Global Platts(www.spglobal.com)

World crude steel output down 0.8 percent in 2024

Global crude steel production in December last year increased by 5.6 percent year on year to 144.5 million mt, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

In 2024, global crude steel production went down by 0.8 year on year to 1.88 billion mt.
In December, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 106.3 million mt, up 9.0 percent, with China’s output at 76.0 million mt, up 11.8 percent, with 6.9 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by 1.1 percent, 13.6 million mt produced by India, up by 9.5 percent, and 5.2 million mt produced by South Korea, moving down by 3.2 percent – with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.

EU-27 countries produced 9.6 million mt of crude steel in December, up by 7.2 percent year on year. In the given period, Germany’s output amounted to 2.7 million mt, up 4.1 percent year on year.

Turkey produced 3.0 million mt of crude steel in December with a 7.6 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2023.

CIS registered a crude steel output of 6.8 million mt, decreasing by 6.8 percent on year-on-year basis, with Russia’s estimated output at 5.7 million mt, down 8.6 percent year on year.
In North America, in December, crude steel output totaled 8.8 million mt, down by 4.3 percent year on year, with the US producing 6.7 million mt, decreasing by 2.4 percent, both year on year. Crude steel output in South America in December amounted to 3.1 million mt, down by 3.8 percent compared to December 2023, with Brazil’s output totaling 2.6 million mt, rising by 1.8 percent year on year.

In the given month, Africa produced 1.9 million mt of crude steel, falling by 1.0 percent year on year. In the Middle East, crude steel output totaled 4.6 million mt, moving down by 4.5 percent.

Source: www.steelorbis.com

German translation:

Global crude steel production to fall by 0.8 percent in 2024

According to the World Steel Association (worldsteel), global crude steel production rose by 5.6% to 144.5 million tons in December last year compared to the same month in the previous year.

In 2024 as a whole, global crude steel production fell by 0.8% year-on-year to 1.88 billion tons.

In Asia, crude steel production amounted to 106.3 million tons in December, an increase of 9.0% compared to the previous year. China produced 76.0 million tons, an increase of 11.8%. Japan’s production amounted to 6.9 million tons, a decrease of 1.1%. India increased its production by 9.5% to 13.6 million tons, while South Korea produced 5.2 million tons, a decrease of 3.2% – all figures are based on a year-on-year comparison.

The EU-27 countries produced 9.6 million tons of crude steel in December, an increase of 7.2% compared to the same month last year. Germany produced 2.7 million tons in this period, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%.

Turkey recorded crude steel production of 3.0 million tons in December, a decrease of 7.6% compared to December 2023.

The CIS states (Commonwealth of Independent States) produced 6.8 million tons of crude steel, a decrease of 6.8% compared to the previous year. Russia accounted for an estimated 5.7 million tons of this, which corresponds to a decline of 8.6%.

In North America, crude steel production amounted to 8.8 million tons in December, which corresponds to a year-on-year decline of 4.3%. The USA produced 6.7 million tons, a drop of 2.4% compared to the previous year.

Crude steel production in South America amounted to 3.1 million tons in December, a decrease of 3.8% compared to December 2023. However, Brazil’s production increased by 1.8% to 2.6 million tons.

Africa produced 1.9 million tons of crude steel in December, which corresponds to a year-on-year decline of 1.0%. In the Middle East, crude steel production fell by 4.5% to 4.6 million tons.