An extraordinary signal from the ceramic industry: Deutsche Steinzeug, an established manufacturer of porcelain stoneware and tiles at the Witterschlick location, is taking to the streets. The company is demonstrating against persistently high energy prices – a step that is unusual for a long-established industrial operation and illustrates the scale of the burden on energy-intensive building material manufacturers. While other industries have already been able to take advantage of relief mechanisms, the ceramic industry remains under considerable cost pressure.
The production of ceramic building materials, in particular porcelain stoneware and glazed tiles, requires firing temperatures between 1,100 and 1,300 °C. The thermal treatment in tunnel kilns or roller kilns makes energy consumption the largest cost factor in the process chain – even ahead of raw materials and logistics. Natural gas as the primary energy source increased by a factor of 5 to 6 since 2021 at times, which increased manufacturing costs per square meter of tile by 30 to 45 percent. Even after the normalization of spot prices, procurement costs remain significantly above pre-crisis levels, as many manufacturers were forced to conclude long-term contracts on unfavorable terms.
The protest by Deutsche Steinzeug is part of a series of warnings from the industry. Already in 2023, several smaller ceramic manufacturers in Germany had to reduce production or close facilities. The competitive situation is also intensifying due to imports from Spain and Italy, where manufacturers sometimes benefit from government energy price caps or lower electricity rates. Planners and building material retailers are increasingly observing supply shortages in premium porcelain stoneware from German production, while Southern European suppliers are gaining market share. For projects with high requirements for EPD certifications and short transport distances, this means a restriction of selection options.
The call for targeted relief for energy-intensive industries remains acute. Representatives of the ceramic industry point to successful models in other EU countries, such as subsidized industrial electricity prices or temporary CO₂ price compensation for companies with high export quotas. Without structural relief, there is a threat of production relocation abroad – with negative consequences for regional value chains and the availability of high-quality building materials. Similar burdens also affect other segments of the building materials industry, such as the chemical industry under margin pressure from raw material prices.
For architects and building material traders, it is advisable to calculate early with realistic price forecasts for ceramic building materials. Market conditions remain volatile, and contractual price adjustment clauses should be standard for larger projects. The long-term availability of quality products from regional manufacturing depends significantly on political decisions regarding energy price developments – a development that affects the entire brick and ceramic industry beyond individual manufacturers.
