Sales of steel products in Germany increased by 7.9% in June due to higher demand
German steel sales rose in June, with total shipments up 7.9% month-on-month to 848,015 metric tons, according to data from the German steel industry Shareholders' association BDS released on July 22, indicating a firmer end to the second quarter after a milder May.
Sales in June increased by 8.3% year-on-year, which was the highest since March 2026, when volumes reached 943,927 tons, according to BDS data.
Despite the recovery in June, the average for the second quarter, which was 818,333 tons per month, decreased by 4.8% compared with the average for the first quarter, which was 859,802 tons per month, reflecting a particularly high figure for March. However, sales in the second quarter still increased 4.3% year-on-year and are broadly in line with the figures for the second quarter of 2024, suggesting that distribution demand in Germany has improved compared to last year, but remains below the higher levels seen in mid-to-late 2010-the X years.
Long and flat rolled products saw an increase in production in June. Sales of long products increased by 8.4% month-on-month and 9% year-on-year to 292,906 tons, while sales of flat products increased by 10.1% month-on-month and 8.1% year-on-year to 481,528 tons.
Sales of other steel products fell 5.9% month-on-month to 73,581 tons in June, although they remained 7.4% higher year-on-year, BDS data showed.
Total stocks of steel products in Germany increased slightly in June to 1.892 million tons, which is 0.9% more than in May and 2% more than in June 2025. According to the data, the growth was mainly due to an increase in the production of flat rolled products and other categories of steel, while stocks of long products continued to decline.
Stocks of rolled products in June fell to 601,814 tons, which is 1.6% less than in the previous month and 8.8% year-on-year. Stocks of flat rolled products in June increased by 1.9% month-on-month and by 8% year-on-year to 1.249 million tons.
The data indicates that the German distribution market is recovering from a decline in demand in 2025, but is still operating below historical norms. Sales growth in June provided a positive end to the second quarter, especially for long products, while inventory levels remain generally controlled.
On July 22, the Platts agency, part of S&P Global Energy, estimated the production of hot-rolled coils on the domestic market in Northern Europe at 710 euros per ton at the Ruhr plant, which is a stable indicator for that day.
Authors Annalisa Villa, Charles Thompson, Devbrat SakhaSpglobal.com