In June 2026, the German steel distribution market showed growth: the volume of shipments increased by 7.9% compared with May, reaching 848,000 tonnes. According to data from the German Steel Distributors’ Association (BDS), this ensured a strong finish to the second quarter following subdued figures in May. This was reported by Eurometal, citing SP Global.

On a year-on-year basis, June sales rose by 8.3%, marking the highest monthly figure since March 2026 (when volumes reached 943.9 thousand tonnes).

Despite the recovery in June, the average monthly sales volume in the second quarter (818.3 thousand tonnes) was 4.8% lower than in the first quarter (859.8 thousand tonnes). However, compared with the second quarter of 2025, sales rose by 4.3%. This indicates a gradual recovery in demand following last year, although the market remains below the peak levels of the second half of the 2010s.

The main categories of steel products showed positive trends in June:

Total stock levels of steel products rose moderately by 0.9% in June — to 1.9 million tonnes (+2% compared with June 2025). The increase was driven by flat steel products (+1.9% month-on-month, to 1.25 million tonnes), whilst stocks of long steel products continued to fall — by 1.6% month-on-month, to 601,800 tonnes.

Analysts note that the German distribution market is gradually overcoming the effects of weaker demand in 2025, whilst maintaining controlled stock levels.

According to Platts, the domestic price of hot-rolled coils in Northern Europe remained stable as at 22 July at €710/t (ex-works Ruhr).

As reported by GMK Center, Germany increased its steel production by 8.9% year-on-year in 1H2026, to 18.6 million tonnes. Pig iron output for the same period stood at 11.6 million tonnes (+9.3% year-on-year), whilst hot-rolled steel production totalled 16.1 million tonnes (+5.4% year-on-year).