Russia’s stainless steel consumption in 2010 exceeds pre-crisis levels

According to the preliminary estimations of the Russian Special Steel and Alloys Consumers and Suppliers Association (Spetsstal), in 2010 Russia's consumption of the main stainless steel products increased by almost 60 percent compared to 2009 to about 308,000 mt, which also exceeds the level of the pre-crisis year of 2008 by 2.6 percent.
 
Meanwhile, the share of imports in Russia's overall consumption of stainless steel products amounted to approximately 60 percent in 2010, reflecting the strong dependence of the Russian domestic stainless steel market on the situation in the foreign markets.