Global stainless steel output rises in Q3
According to the data released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), global stainless steel production reached 5.9 million mts in the third quarter of 2004 with a rise of 9.3% compared to 5.4 million mts recorded in the same period of last year. Stainless steel production in Western Europe/Africa region was recorded as 2.2 million mts in the mentioned period. Asia showed again the strongest growth with production rising by 10.4% to 3 million mts. Year-to-date production was also up by 10.8% to 8.7 million mts. ISSF expects global stainless steel production to grow by 6.8% to 24.4 million mts in 2004.Stainless crude steel production (in ’000 metric tons) Q3 Region 2003 2004 % Change Western Europe/Africa 1'945 2'160 +11.1 Central and Eastern Europe 67 63 -6.0 The Americas 681 686 0.7 Asia 2'722 3'006 10.4 Total World 5'415 5'915 9.3
Stainless crude steel production (in ’000 metric tons) First nine months Region 2003 2004 % Change Western Europe/Africa 6'766 7'074 +4.6 Central and Eastern Europe 211 201 -4.7 The Americas 2'091 2'179 4.2 Asia 7'887 8'741 10.8 Total World 16'955 18'195 7.3