Crude steel production in Germany fell by 27 percent to 2.6 million tons in May compared to the same month last year, the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl) announced on Wednesday.

In April, crude steel production in Germany had already dropped by 24 percent and WV Stahl warned that “demand for steel could shrink to an even lower level than during the 2009 financial crisis.”

The COVID-19 crisis would “hit the industry at a time when it was already weakened by the economic downturn” in important customer industries, WV Stahl stated.

Germany’s largest steel producer ThyssenKrupp announced in May that the first half of the current fiscal year was “significantly impacted by the initial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The performance of ThyssenKrupp’s steel business in Europe was characterized by the “structurally extremely challenging situation in the steel sector.” According to the company, the overall market slowdown was also reflected in lower price levels.

Total volumes on the steel market in Germany had fallen by 12 percent last year. Crude steel production dropped for the second year in a row and, for the first time since 2009, fell below the 40-million-ton mark at 39.7 million tons.