Global stainless crude steel output jumped by almost 25% year-on-year during the first quarter to 14.5 million tonnes, according to International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) data seen by Kallanish.
The jump was mainly supported by Chinese output, which recovered 36.9% y-o-y during the quarter to almost 8.2mt. In Europe the recovery stood at 5.3% y-o-y, while US output was in line with Q1 2020 at 624,000t.
According to ISSF figures, Q1 output was the highest on record for stainless steel, increasing 2.7% q-o-q from the latest record, which was registered in Q4 2020 at 14.1mt.
Since 2012, when quarterly global output was in the range of 900,000t, the stainless steel sector has been registering steady increases, fuelled by the jump in production in China and other parts of the world excluding EU, the USA and Asia.
As a comparison, global carbon crude steel output during Q1 this year recovered “only” 10% y-o-y, ISSF points out.
Emanuele Norsa Italy
