Stainless steel production is estimated to rise in 2004

Stainless steel production is estimated to rise in 2004

According to the recent estimations, demand for flat stainless steel products is expected to rise in the fourth quarter of 2003. The data released indicates that the demand for the product in the first quarter of 2003 was lower than expected, however demand will increase in the fourth quarter. According to the estimations, stainless steel production which has shown a decrease by 0.9% in the third quarter is expected to show a decrease of 0.4% in the fourth quarter. However, worldwide annual production of stainless steel is expected to reach 211.2 million tons with an increase by 5.7%, when compared with the previous year. It is also forecasted that the rise in the production of stainless steel will be 6% in 2004 and with the expectation that the production will increase in China, this rate may even reach to 7.3%.