Stainless steel production increase Q3 2009

Preliminary figures released today by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) show that world stainless steel production decreased by 15% in the first nine months of 2009 when compared to the same period of 2008. However, production figures for the third quarter show an increase of 12.5% when compared to the same quarter in 2008.

Excluding China, stainless steel production in Asia was 5 million metric tons (mmt) in the first nine months of 2009, a decline of 23% compared to the same period of 2008. Production was reduced significantly in India and Japan while production levels remained flat in Korea and Taiwan, China.

Stainless production in China was 6.6 mmt in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of 19.1% on the same period of 2008. China now accounts for almost 37% of the world’s stainless production. At the end of the third quarter of 2008, China’s market share was just 26%.

The Western Europe/Africa region produced 4.6 mmt of stainless during the first nine months of 2009, a decrease of 31.5%. Production also declined in The Americas region to 1.5 mmt, a 22.9% drop on the same period of 2008. The volume of stainless produced in the Central and Eastern Europe region was just 0.2 mmt for the period, a drop of 38.2% on the previous year.