Salzgitter declares force majeure on steel shipments

German steel producer Salzgitter has declared force majeure on steel shipments, according to a letter obtained by Argus.

The company said wintry weather has forced the closure of the Salzgitter-Beddingen freight station, with trains "jammed" throughout the rail freight network.

Rail and inland waterway movements were impossible last week, it said, although truck transport was viable on some routes, but with delays.

"We are endeavouring to examine the concrete effects on our contractual relationship with you and to adjust the production and transport planning to the changed circumstances," the letter says, adding that there could be "several days" of delay.

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe informed customers last week that it would not be able to rebuild its inventories to pre-crisis levels as planned, because of the winter weather. The weather, which also disrupted truck, train and barge movements for ThyssenKrupp, has led to "production delays and plant downtimes along the entire process chain". The company said this will delay the normalisation of its supply — which has already been booked to July-August and effectively offthe market, after an "aggressive operating mode", as it looked to catch up on deliveries, caused plant trouble.

By Colin Richardson