General | Feb 04 2006
Steel industry consultant MEPS estimates global production of stainless steel will increase by about 7% to 26m tonnes in 2006, but there is an ongoing shift in the balance of production.
This is best represented by the 2005 figures, which showed western world production fell by almost 5% from 2004 to 20.81m tonnes, with the European Union in particular producing lower total volumes, as did Japan, the US and Korea.
At the other end of the scale were China and India, both of which lifted production last year to 3.2m tonnes and 1.5m tonnes respectively and appear set to record higher output again this year.
One implication of this as MEPS notes is it removes China from the list of potential markets for surplus production, which is of particular relevance to the European producers.
It notes many companies have only recently completed periods of large capital expenditure to lift melting capacity, but an inability to sell additional output could put pressure on profitability, particularly as western market share is likely to continue to decline.
