Global stainless crude steel production in the first quarter of the year amounted to nearly 9.4-million metric tonnes, marking a 6% year-on-year increase, the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has found.
However, besides China, all steel-producing regions recorded lower output volumes in the year-on-year comparison. The highest drop was in the Asia region, excluding China, where production fell by 3.6% to 2.15-million metric tonnes, compared with the first quarter of 2012.
Eastern Europe reported a decline in stainless crude steel production of 3%, while stainless steel production in Western Europe and Africa fell by 2.8% to 2.15-million metric tonnes. The Americas region achieved production of 600 000 metric tonnes, almost on par with the previous corresponding period.
China significantly increased its production of stainless crude steel in the quarter by 18.3% to 4.4-million metric tonnes.
Meanwhile, the ISSF stated that comparing the final quarter of 2012 with the first three months of 2013 indicated that global stainless steel production levels were improving somewhat; however, it pointed out that production levels were somewhat depressed in the last quarter of 2012.
Quarter-on-quarter, Western Europe/Africa and the Americas increased production by 19.5% and 10.3%, respectively. Production in Asia, excluding China, was flat at 0.2%, while Eastern Europe’s output fell by 0.6% and that of China declined by 1.7%.
The ISSF indicated that the current perception was that markets would return to real demand levels with some restocking in the second half of the year. It expected a slight increase in global stainless steel production for the full year.