Weak demand and a seasonal slowdown in the European stainless steel market affected producers’ third-quarter shipments. Outokumpu’s stainless steel shipments in Europe decreased by 12%, while shipments in Aperam’s Stainless & Electrical Steel division declined by 13%. Both companies reported no significant recovery in demand in the European market.
European stainless steel producers Outokumpu and Aperam shared their assessments of regional demand conditions in their third-quarter results published on November 6, 2026.
According to the companies, weak end-user demand and the seasonal summer slowdown continued to affect stainless steel shipments in Europe.
Finnish stainless steel producer Outokumpu’s stainless steel shipments in Europe decreased by 12% quarter on quarter to 300,000 tons in the third quarter of 2026. The company’s European shipments stood at 339,000 tons in the second quarter.
Outokumpu stated that weak end-user demand, high customer inventory levels and the seasonal slowdown affected shipment volumes in the European market.
According to the company, demand in Europe’s automotive and household appliance sectors remained weak, while stronger demand was observed in certain industrial segments supported by data center-related activities.
Outokumpu expects its total stainless steel shipments to decrease by 5% to 15% in the fourth quarter of 2026 compared to the third quarter. The company anticipates that demand will remain weak, particularly in Europe, and that customer inventories will stay at high levels.
Luxembourg-based Aperam’s Stainless & Electrical Steel division recorded shipments of 374,000 tons in the third quarter of 2026.
Shipments in the division decreased by 13% compared to the 430,000 tons recorded in the second quarter.
Aperam attributed the decline in shipments to the seasonal summer slowdown in Europe.
The company stated that there had been no significant recovery in European demand, while average steel selling prices in its Stainless & Electrical Steel division remained stable compared to the previous quarter.
According to Outokumpu’s third-quarter report, stainless steel imports into Europe decreased as a result of trade policy measures. However, the company stated that weak end-user demand continued to put pressure on the market despite the positive impact of lower imports.
The report indicated that the share of cold rolled stainless steel imports in the EU-30 region decreased from 20% in the second quarter to 18% in the third quarter.
While Outokumpu expects demand conditions in the European market to remain weak in the final quarter of the year, Aperam reported no significant recovery in regional demand during the third quarter.
