The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported that Germany’s smelting works had produced 1.28 million tonnes of pig iron – or raw iron – and 2.1 million tonnes of crude steel in March this year.
These numbers ring in at 50.3 percent less pig-iron and 49.8 percent less crude steel than in March 2008. They also amount to a reduction of 14.2 percent and 17.5 percent respectively since February.
“This is the biggest drop since 1990,” one statistician said. Reports say that the industry is suffering from a shrinking demand in the auto and machine industries.
Germany’s market leader ThyssenKrupp announced job cuts for about 5,000 contract workers recently. Some 10,000 ThyssenKrupp workers protested against the mass redundancies in Duisburg on Monday.
The ThyssenKrupp share price dropped from €15.53 to €14.85 on the XETRA share index before midday on Tuesday.
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