economic situation
Fewer orders for the German steel industry
Expensive energy makes steel production in Germany expensive. As a result, first orders and then production collapse.
The ailing German steel industry received fewer orders in the summer months than before. The value of the order fell by 9.4 percent in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. Compared to the same period last year, the decline is 9.7 percent. As a result, the order backlog shrank by 4.9 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Production has not fallen quite as drastically. It was 0.7 percent lower in the third quarter than in the second quarter. Compared to the same period last year, it even shows an increase of 2.7 percent.
A key reason for the weak steel economy is the sharp increase in energy prices as a result of the war in Ukraine. In the first quarter of 2022 – at the time of the Russian attack – production was 5.2 percent higher than currently.
Steel industry sales have also declined. Between July and September 2024, companies generated 1.8 percent less revenue than in the second quarter. At the end of September, 71,200 people were still employed in the industry. That was 1.7 percent more than a year earlier and more than ever since the end of September 2020. The Thyssenkrupp group is currently planning to cut and outsource several thousand jobs.
dpa
Source: Stern
