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Skip next section Industry leaders say Deutsche Bahn problems costing them billions in new report 06/27/2026 June 27, 2026 Industry leaders say Deutsche Bahn problems
Skip next section Industry leaders say Deutsche Bahn problems costing them billions in new report 06/27/2026 June 27, 2026 Industry leaders say Deutsche Bahn problems costing them billions in new report Leaders and representatives from the steel, chemical and automobile industry called out Germany's beleaguered Deutsche Bahn (DB) Saturday, saying the rail provider is costing their businesses billions as the result of ongoing track closures.
In a report published by Germany's Welt am Sonntag (WaS) newspaper, industry reps say rotting DB infrastructure has increasingly forced them to shift transport of their goods and materials to highways over the past several years, pointing out that truck transport is far less efficient than rail. The steel industry, which transports nearly 50% of its products and raw production materials by rail, is being especially hard hit.
A speaker from Germany's Salzgitter steel company told the paper, "we've had to throttle steel production." Germany's steel industry says DB's problems have forced them to throttle production as well as leaving ore reserves critically low Image: Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa/picture alliance And a representative at ArcelorMittal said ore reserves at the company's Eisenhüttenstadt steel works had reached "critically low" levels. Germany's chemical industry, which transports some 25 million tons of products and materials via rail annually, has also been hit hard.
Wolfgang Große Entrup of the Chemical Industry Association (VCI), told WaS the Deutsche Bahn needs to "urgently adjust" its planning, coordination and prioritization," adding, "freight transport must take precedence on detour routes" when construction is taking place.
The BriefWire