ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG announced that it will reduce its steel production in the second quarter of 2005 by around 500,000 tonnes.

This cutback, equivalent to approximately 10% of TKS’s total production, will primarily affect hot-dip, electrolytic and organic coated materials. The impact on employment at the plants can be cushioned by using up credits in working time accounts.

The company says the cutback has become necessary due to the significant increase in imports, mainly to southern Europe, that occurred particularly around the turn of the year. At the same time, customer stocks were built up, partly due to the unusually long and hard winter which restricted construction activity in Europe, thus putting pressure on steel prices.

Dr. Jost A. Massenberg, ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG Executive Board member responsible for the Industry Division, said of the production cutback: “Our principle is price before quantity. It remains vital that revenues at least cover the cost increases on the raw material side. The extreme rises in ore and coking coal prices have exacerbated the situation, and we will have little choice other than to pass them on to our customers.”