German bitumen production fell by around 16pc on the year to 1.17mn t in the first half of 2026, official data show, because of a shortage of heavy crudes ideal for production of the road paving product.
Output was particularly low in May and June, because the US-Iran war created Mideast crude shortfalls. German refinery output fell by more than 30pc on the year in May to 247,000t, and June production was 20pc loweron the year at 254,000t, according to data from the country's export control office (Bafa).
Most German refiners rely heavily on bitumen-rich sour-grade crudes sourced from the Mideast Gulf, supply of which slowed after the US-Iran war led to the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. The Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), which is a source of supply for the Miro consortium's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery in southwest Germany, was only able to run lighter crudes in May and June, effectively cutting bitumen output and inducing a switch to light-end products like diesel and jet fuel.
TAL, which begins at Trieste in Italy, also supplies the Czech Republic's 108,000 b/d Litvinov refinery, owned by Orlen Unipetrol — a key supplier to Germany. Litvinov also focused on middle-distillate output, which effectively curbed trucked flows of bitumen to Germany.
Delays to crude cargo deliveries also affected bitumen output at TotalEnergies' Brunbuettel and Klesch's 84,000 b/d Heide plants in northern Germany. Market participants said refineries in the north had to pause spot offers in order to continue term supplies to buyers in Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
German road works generally start in April and break for summer holidays in August. With bitumen output constrained by feedstock issues, and crude and fuel oil prices volatile, domestic German bitumen prices averaged €679/t ex-works in June, the highest on Argus records. Many paving contractors consequently delayed planned road and construction projects to September. Paving activity has been slow in September, but market participants say product availability has improved significantly. Argus assessed average German domestic truck prices at €539/t ex-works in the week ending 18 September.
