Preliminary figures 
released by nonprofit 
research organisation the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) show that stainless crude steel production 
decreased in the first half of 2009 by 26,7%, compared with figures for the corresponding period of 2008. Total production for the first six months of 2009 was 10,8-million tons.

All significant regions showed lower production volumes in the first half of 2009. Only China 
increased its stainless steel production in the period by 5,3%, to 4,1-million tons, and now 
accounts for almost 40% of the world’s stainless steel production.

Stainless steel production in the Asia region, excluding 
China, declined by 34%, to 3-million tons, in the first half of 2009. Reductions in production 
volume ranged from 10% to 50%, depending on the country.

Western Europe and Africa reported a 40,5% decrease in stain-
less steel production during the first six months of 2009 with total output amounting to 2,9-million tons in this period, down from 4,9-million tons for the first half of 2008.

In the Americas, stainless crude 
steel production declined by 40,6%, to 0,8-million tons, in the first half of 2009, while produc-
tion in the Eastern Europe region 
showed a decrease of 48,6%. Total production was 100 000 t, 
an almost negligible volume.

However, a comparison done by the ISSF of the first and second quarters of 2009 indicates that a significant recovery in stainless steel production may have started.

All regions, except Eastern Europe and the Americas, showed strongly increased production volumes in the second quarter. In Asia and China, the increase was almost 30% above first-quarter production. Western Europe and Africa reported a 20% increase in the same period.

In a comparison of the market share of each of the main stainless steel grades, the ISSF reports that there has been a recovery in the market share of austenitic steels, 300 Series, compared with the levels of 2008.