Output among the five major stainless producing countries and regions slipped by varying degrees last year, with US volume posting the sharpest percentage fall among the five of 14.8% on year for a total of 2 million tonnes.

Stainless output in Europe also declined significantly by 12.4% on year to 6.29 million tonnes last year, though the tonnage in Q4 jumped by 28.6% on quarter, the ISSF data showed.

In reaction to the slowdown in the global economy and the rise in global inflation, stainless producers in many countries and regions trimmed their production to ease the imbalance between supply and demand, Mysteel Global learned.

Stainless output in China, the world's largest stainless producer, witnessed an on-year decrease of 2% and reached 31.98 million tonnes last year, the first on-year fall since 2016, mainly due to the impact of COVID-related restrictions and the lackluster demand, Mysteel Global noted.

During the second quarter of last year, production at some Chinese stainless mills had been restricted by the COVID resurgence in many regions and by local government measures to curb the spread of the virus, notably the two-month long lockdown in Shanghai.

China's stainless output remained at a low level during the third quarter last year, as many local stainless mills conducted maintenance on their steelmaking facilities in view of their shrinking profit margins and in response to poor demand from end-users, as reported.

China's apparent stainless consumption was estimated at 27.57 million tonnesin 2022, down by 341,000 or 1.2% on year, according to the data released by the Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association.



Article source：mysteel.net