Steel prices in Germany — what was actually paid in 2024
Germany buys steel the way its industry consumes it: hot-rolled coil in bulk to feed its own rolling and coating lines, and high-specification coated and precision material where the domestic mills do not cover the grade. That is why German import unit values sit above the European middle without the country ever being the most expensive place to buy.
Last updated
These are declared border values, not offers. Germany reports them; we divide dollars by kilos. How it is done and where it breaks down →
- 22,350,745 tsteel imported (2024)
- 26,990,066 tsteel exported
- Net exporter4,639,321 t surplus
Imports
What Germany imported and what it paid, 2024
| HS | Product | Tonnes | USD/tonne | Value (USD m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7208 | Hot-rolled coil and plate | 6,637,117 | 852 | 5,655.0 |
| 7210 | Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) | 5,497,807 | 1,225 | 6,734.1 |
| 7209 | Cold-rolled sheet | 2,077,305 | 854 | 1,773.1 |
| 7214 | Hot-rolled bar | 2,030,995 | 779 | 1,582.2 |
| 7216 | Angles, shapes and sections | 1,863,450 | 938 | 1,748.1 |
| 730661 | Welded hollow section, square and rectangular | 1,083,841 | 1,106 | 1,198.2 |
| 7213 | Wire rod | 1,051,900 | 762 | 801.1 |
| 730630 | Welded tube, circular, non-alloy | 950,467 | 1,312 | 1,247.3 |
| 7217 | Wire | 624,424 | 1,272 | 794.0 |
| 7212 | Narrow coated strip | 533,439 | 1,305 | 696.4 |
Exports
What Germany exported and what it received, 2024
| HS | Product | Tonnes | USD/tonne | Value (USD m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7210 | Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) | 7,154,268 | 1,128 | 8,070.9 |
| 7208 | Hot-rolled coil and plate | 6,854,763 | 864 | 5,922.1 |
| 7213 | Wire rod | 3,605,841 | 710 | 2,561.6 |
| 7216 | Angles, shapes and sections | 3,256,379 | 1,023 | 3,330.6 |
| 7214 | Hot-rolled bar | 1,914,969 | 798 | 1,528.0 |
| 7209 | Cold-rolled sheet | 1,884,869 | 858 | 1,617.1 |
| 7212 | Narrow coated strip | 1,082,753 | 1,500 | 1,624.6 |
| 7217 | Wire | 589,532 | 1,393 | 821.2 |
| 730630 | Welded tube, circular, non-alloy | 409,708 | 2,092 | 857.1 |
| 730661 | Welded hollow section, square and rectangular | 236,984 | 1,750 | 414.7 |
What the Germany numbers say
- At the top of the German import list sits welded tube, circular, non-alloy at 1,312 USD per tonne and at the bottom wire rod at 762 — 1.7× between them, which in a market this specification-driven is a statement about quality mix rather than about bargaining.
- One heading, Hot-rolled coil and plate, carries 30 % of the inbound tonnage; everything else is a rounding difference against it.
- The lane structure is spread: Belgium supplies 38 % of the five largest sources on that heading.
- German trade in welded tube, circular, non-alloy runs at 1,312 USD paid against 2,092 received, a 780 USD spread that reflects how much finishing happens inside the country.
Buying and selling into Germany
- Germany is the deepest steel market in Europe and a net exporter of coated and finished product while importing hot-rolled coil — the pattern of a country with more rolling and coating capacity than primary production.
- Import unit values here run above the European average because the mix is weighted towards high-specification material: automotive-grade coated sheet, pressure plate and precision tube rather than commodity coil.
- Deliveries arrive DAP by truck from Türkiye and the Balkans in six to nine days, or by sea to Hamburg, Bremerhaven and the ARA ports for container and breakbulk cargo.
- EN 10204 3.1 certification is expected on every order and CE marking under EN 1090 is mandatory for structural components, which adds documentation time rather than cost.
Main supplying countries
Hot-rolled coil and plate (HS 7208)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 1,936,022 | 790 |
| Netherlands | 1,318,615 | 818 |
| Italy | 853,072 | 831 |
| Partner 251 | 589,726 | 987 |
| Austria | 445,947 | 974 |
Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) (HS 7210)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 1,382,435 | 1,035 |
| Partner 251 | 1,145,822 | 1,062 |
| Netherlands | 993,059 | 1,061 |
| Austria | 762,939 | 2,281 |
| Italy | 223,935 | 1,071 |
Cold-rolled sheet (HS 7209)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 932,018 | 822 |
| Netherlands | 327,410 | 886 |
| Sweden | 189,607 | 941 |
| Austria | 174,023 | 898 |
| Korea, Rep. | 107,933 | 803 |
Hot-rolled bar (HS 7214)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 534,595 | 746 |
| Partner 251 | 410,491 | 648 |
| Poland | 278,471 | 873 |
| China | 145,189 | 821 |
| Czechia | 127,059 | 885 |
Buying into Germany?
For delivery into Germany the practical questions are grade, certification and the delivery week. Send a specification with EN 10204 3.1 noted and the offer arrives DAP.
How Germany import values moved, 2020–2024
Declared import unit value by heading and year, USD per tonne
| Year | Hot-rolled coil and plate | Cold-rolled sheet | Galvanized and coated sheet | Narrow coated strip | Wire rod | Hot-rolled bar | Angles, shapes and sections | Steel wire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 621 | 668 | 835 | 1,005 | 566 | 578 | 714 | 898 |
| 2021 | 979 | — | — | 1,394 | 852 | 839 | 1,071 | 1,215 |
| 2022 | 1,154 | 1,172 | 1,383 | 1,580 | 1,033 | 1,052 | 1,337 | 1,536 |
| 2023 | 969 | 952 | 1,243 | 1,495 | 840 | 904 | 1,063 | — |
| 2024 | 852 | 854 | 1,225 | 1,305 | 762 | 779 | 938 | 1,272 |
Read down for a year and across for the range of products. Headings with fewer than three reported years are left out, and the columns are not combined into an average, because the products behind them are not comparable. A cell far from its neighbours reflects what was declared under that code, not a data error.
Other markets
Questions about steel prices in Germany
What does steel cost in Germany?
Hot-rolled coil imported into Germany cleared customs at 852 USD per tonne in 2024. German import unit values sit above the European average because the product mix leans to higher grades — automotive sheet, pressure-vessel plate and engineering steels rather than commodity coil.
Why are German import unit values higher than the EU average?
Product mix, not overpayment. A market importing 0.5 mm automotive outer-panel sheet and 40 mm quenched plate will always show a higher average than one importing 3 mm commercial coil, even at identical mill prices.
Does CBAM affect steel imports into Germany?
Yes. The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism applies to iron and steel imports and requires embedded-emissions reporting, with the financial obligation phasing in. It is an EU-wide instrument, so it applies identically in every member state.
What documents does steel need to enter Germany?
EU customs clearance, EN 10204 mill certificates, CE marking under EN 1090 where the product is a construction product, and CBAM reporting. A preference certificate such as EUR.1 can remove duty where an agreement applies — note that steel sits outside the EU–Türkiye customs union and uses EUR.1 rather than A.TR.