World stainless steel output hits all-time high in Q3

According to the preliminary figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), global stainless crude steel production increased in the third quarter of 2012 by 2.6 percent year on year to 8.3 million metric tons, reaching a new all-time high for a third quarter.

Meanwhile, preliminary figures released by the ISSF show that worldwide stainless steel crude steel production reached 26.1 million mt in the first nine months of 2012, increasing by 2.9 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011. However, the ISSF noted that there were big differences in the performances of individual regions.

Excluding China, stainless steel production in Asia decreased slightly by 0.2 percent year on year to 6.6 million mt in the first nine months of 2012, while China increased its stainless steel production by 7.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2012 to 11.4 million mt. The country now accounts for around 44 percent of the world's stainless steel production.
The stainless steel production of the western Europe/Africa regions in the first three quarters of 2012 rose slightly by 0.7 percent year on year to 6 million mt.

In the Americas region, stainless crude steel production decreased by 5.5 percent year on year to 1.8 million mt over the first three quarters of the year. Production in the central and eastern Europe region showed a drop of 10.6 percent year on year, to 0.3 million mt.

Stainless crude steel production (in ‘000 metric tons):