Global stainless steel production dropped by 2.5pc in 2020 to 50.9mn mt compared to 52.2mn mt in 2019, according to the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).
Stainless steel output dropped by 11pc to 23.2mn mt in the first half of 2020 from 26.1mn mt in H1 2019 but increased by 5.9pc in the second half of last year to 27.6mn mt compared to 26.1mn mt in H2 2019.
In 2020, China led world stainless production with a 59.2pc growth followed by other Asian countries excluding China and Korea at 12.6pc. Europe’s stainless steel production accounted for 12.4pc while the US contributed 4.2pc to global stainless steel production and other countries accounting for 11.5pc.
Production in the EU fell to 6.2mn mt in 2020 compared to 6.8mn mt in 2019 and fell in the Americas to 2.1mn mt from 2.5mn mt in the same period. Stainless steel production in Asia also declined to 36.5mn mt in 2020 from 37.2mn mt in 2019, ISSF noted.
Global exports of primary stainless steel fell to 18.2mn mt in 2020 from 19.3mn mt the previous year and stainless steel scrap exports dropped to 4.9mn mt from 5.9mn mt in the same timeframe.
Global stainless steel consumption in 2020 was close to 12mn mt almost at par with 2019, ISSF stated. Stainless steel consumption in Europe and Africa was more than 1.5mn mt in 2020 while America consumed less than 1mn mt last year. Consumption in Asia excluding China was slightly lower than 2.5mn mt while China’s stainless steel consumption in 2020 touched around 7mn mt.
The highest usage of stainless steel is in metal products at 37.7pc while the construction sector uses 12.4pc stainless steel. Mechanical engineering uses 28.7pc and electrical machinery uses 7.8pc of stainless steel. Motor vehicles and parts sectors use 8.3pc stainless steel while other transport sector uses 5.1pc of stainless steel.