Thyssenkrupp announces force majeure due to low waterways

A severe drought led to a decrease in water levels on German rivers, which led Thyssenkrupp Steel to suspend production.

The Rhine River Company, which supplies raw materials to the Duisburg plants, announced the termination of the supply of crude oil and scrap metal.

"The supply of raw materials cannot be provided in the required volume by the rest of the vehicles," the company said in a statement. “Production will be reduced accordingly. As a result of this exceptional situation, Thyssenkrupp Steel declared force majeure to its customers. "

The extent of the production cut was not specified as the impact is currently being assessed. Tk Steel says it will use downtime for scheduled maintenance.

Last week on Tuesday was the lowest water level ever measured in Duisburg and the situation has not improved since then. This leaves the river unnavigable for heavy transport. Consequently, more vessels with lighter cargoes have been deployed recently.

Salzgitter has not addressed this issue so far. These factories are supplied with goods from Hamburg by canals (Elbeseitenkanal and Mittelllandkanal) and by train. Trains and trucks are used as outbound transport.