In December last year, Germany's crude steel output increased by 12.79 percent year on year to 3.46 million metric tons, though it decreased by 5.63 percent compared to November, according to the information provided by the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). In the fourth quarter of 2013, German crude steel output recorded a year-on-year increase for the first time since the summer of 2011, of nearly seven percent.
In 2013, Germany's crude steel output totaled 42.641 million mt, nearly unchanged from 2012, while the capacity utilization of German steel producers was 83 percent. On the other hand, in 2013 Germany's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 33.834 million metric tons, indicating a slight decrease of 0.59 percent, including 21.848 million metric tons of flat steel products - down 1.09 percent, and 11.986 million metric tons of long steel products - up 0.32 percent, all on-year-on year basis.