Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced that the raw steel production in metallurgical plants declined by 53.1% YoY to 1.88 million tones in April 2009 as compared with a 49.8% fall in March 2009. At the same time, pig iron production dropped by 56.8% to 1.06 million tonnes, after falling 50.3% in March 2009.
Destatis in a statement said that “There has not been such a strong decrease since the federal republic was founded in 1949.” News magazine Der Spiegel reported that the disastrous numbers are due to the dramatic decrease in the auto and manufacturing industries after the worldwide financial crisis.
