In the second quarter of this year, world stainless crude steel output moved up by 9.3 percent quarter on quarter to 17.24 million mt, while increasing by 7.6 percent year on year, according to the report released by the World Stainless Steel Association (worldstainless).
In the given quarter, stainless crude steel production moved up by 9.7 percent in China and increased by 8.7 percent in the Asia region, while rising by 4.1 percent in the US and by 0.5 percent in Europe, all compared to the second quarter of 2025. In the first half of 2026, global stainless steel output increased by 5.0 percent year on year to 32.96 million mt.
Stainless crude steel production (x 1,000 metric tons):
| Region | ||||||
| 2025 - Q2 | 2026 - Q2 | Y-o-y change (%) | 2025 - H1 | 2026 - H1 | Y-o-y change (%) | |
| Asia | 13,671 |
14,867 |
+8.7 | 26,689 |
28,307 |
+6.1 |
| China | 10,227 |
11,223 |
+9.7 | 19,664 |
21,068 |
+7.1 |
| European Union | 1,491 |
1,499 |
+0.5 | 3,024 |
2,913 |
-3.7 |
| United States | 559 |
582 |
+4.1 | 1,111 |
1,147 |
+3.2 |
| Others (Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, United Kingdom) | 294 |
292 |
-1.0 | 581 |
597 |
+2.9 |
| Total | 16,015 |
17,239 |
+7.6 | 31,404 |
32,964 |
+5.0 |
