Steel sales in Germany totaled 879,820 units in September, up 2.9% year on year and 20.9% from August. The data were published on October 27 by the German Steel Trade Association (BDS), which represents companies involved in steel storage and sales.
Sales rose in all three categories compared with August. Long steel product sales increased by 18.4% to 296,173 units, while flat steel product sales rose by 21.5% to 503,098 units. Sales of other steel products gained 27.1% to reach 80,549 units, according to BDS data.
Compared with September 2025, sales of long steel products increased by 7.1%, while sales of other steel products rose by 9.6%. Flat steel product sales were almost unchanged, declining by 0.3%.
The September increase followed a decline in August, when total sales fell to 727,529 units. September sales were also 5.8% above the 2025 monthly average of 789,369 units.
Total steel inventories fell by 2.8% in September from August, from 1,921,832 to 1,868,313 units, BDS said. Inventories of long steel products declined by 2.1% to 618,961 units, while flat steel product inventories fell by 3.2% to 1,211,698 units. Inventories of other steel products were almost unchanged, decreasing by 0.8% to 37,654 units.
Despite the monthly decline, total inventories remained 1.4% above the September 2025 level. Flat steel product inventories rose 3.6% year on year, while inventories of other steel products increased by 23.5%. These gains offset a 3.8% decline in long steel product inventories.
Average sales in the third quarter totaled 830,846 units, up 1.3% from the third quarter of 2025, when the average was 819,973 units. Average monthly sales in the third quarter of 2026 were also 1.5% above the second-quarter level of 818,333 units.
Average inventories in the third quarter of 2026 reached 1,903,146 units. This was 2.1% higher than a year earlier and 1% above the second-quarter figure. The quarterly increase was driven by higher inventories of flat steel products and other steel products, while average inventories of long steel products declined.
Author: Annalisa Villa
