In the first quarter of 2010, just under 7.5 million metric tons of stainless steel was produced globally, almost the highest ever volume for the first three months of a year, according to the preliminary report released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF). All areas of the world contributed to the increase in production with the Americas leading the way. Nevertheless, a comparison with Q1 2009 is strongly impacted by the extraordinary low production level in Q1 2009 due to the crisis: the apparent increase in production by 54.6 percent cannot be sustained throughout 2010. The ISSF has previously noted that a recovery began in the last two quarters of 2009 as production began to return to normal levels.
Stainless crude steel production (in ‘000 metric tons):
Region |
Quarter |
Q-o-Q |
Quarter 1 |
Y-o- Y |
||
4/2009 |
1/2010 |
2009 |
2010 |
|||
1,807 |
2,070 |
14.5 |
1,315 |
2,070 |
57.4 |
|
Central and Eastern Europe |
62 |
68 |
10.4 |
50 |
68 |
37.2 |
The Americas |
465 |
733 |
57.5 |
409 |
733 |
79.1 |
Asia (excluding China) |
2,130 |
2,165 |
1.7 |
1,289 |
2,165 |
68.0 |
China |
2,236 |
2,435 |
8.9 |
1,769 |
2,435 |
37.7 |
World total |
6,700 |
7,472 |
11.5 |
4,832 |
7,472 |
54.6 |
The ISSF noted that, despite the impressive results, the year-on-year comparison should be reviewed in the light of the base effect, arising from global recession which was followed by heavy destocking, the start of the global recovery in the second half of 2009 and rising manufacturing activity in stainless-using industries, such as the automotive sector, and finally replenishment of stocks by many fabricators and stainless steel stockholders.
The ISSF expects that the stainless industry on a world basis will continue to return to its normal production on a reasonable level over the following quarters of 2010 and 2011. For the full year, the ISSF expects around an 11 to 12 percent increase in the volume of stainless steel production.