Global stainless steel output hits new record in 2011

According to the report, although there was some destocking noted during the third quarter of 2011, this was partially compensated for during the final three months of the year. Comparing production for each quarter to 2010 shows that there were very different growth rates in the regions over the course of 2011. This reflects growing concerns about general global economic development and the destocking that occurred during the year.

Excluding China, Asian stainless production in 2011 declined by 2.7 percent to 8.8 million mt, while in Taiwan production declined by 20.6 percent, both compared to the previous year. Production in Japan in the given year declined by 5.3 percent year on year to 3.2 million mt. Meanwhile, South Korea (+5.3 percent) and India (+7 percent) increased their production of stainless steel during the year.

China has remained the driving force in stainless steel production with growth of 11.9 percent year on year in 2011. The country produced 12.6 million mt of stainless steel during the year. Including China, Asian production accounted for 66.5 percent of all stainless steel produced in the world.

Production in the Western Europe-Africa region remained stagnant in 2011 with the total volume reaching just under 7.9 million mt. In the Central and Eastern Europe region, production rose by 14.1 percent year on year to 0.4 million mt, although the volume is almost negligible in a global context. In the Americas, stainless production dropped to 2.5 million mt, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to 2010.

Stainless crude steel production (x 1,000 metric tons):