China's stainless steel production increased to a record 39.44 million tons in 2024, contributing to an increase in global production, which put downward pressure on prices.
The world's largest stainless steel manufacturing country increased its smelter production by 7.5%, according to data released by worldstainless, global production increased by 7% in 2024. An increase in volumes was recorded in all the regions studied, resulting in a total production volume of 62.62 million tons.
In Europe, the lowest growth rate for the year was recorded, by only 1.5% to 6.08 million tons. Production increased by 6.9% in the United States, 6.4% in Asia (excluding China and South Korea), and 9.2% in the worldstainless "other" category, which includes Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea.
Widespread production growth has meant that China's share of the global market has increased. Last year, this figure was 58.8% compared to 59.6% a year earlier. However, the increase in production in the fourth quarter by 19.3% year-on-year, to 10.74 million tons, indicates that production in the country may continue to grow. As a result, in the first three months of this year, the country's stainless steel production decreased by only 2.8% compared to the previous quarter, which corresponds to an increase of 10.6%.
An increase in global stainless steel production will increase the downward pressure already exerted on prices by low demand and, more recently, lower raw material costs. This is especially true for markets outside Asia, including the United States and Europe, where consumption is stagnating.
Previously, Worldstainless predicted that growth would be 19.1% year-on-year.- The annual decline in consumption in the Europe/Africa category in 2023 will be followed by a further decrease of 4.7% in 2024. The company also forecasts a 0.4% decline in consumption in the Americas region in 2024, following a 9.4% drop in 2023. However, it forecasts 5.3% growth in China and 6.5% in the rest of Asia, resulting in an overall increase of about 4%.
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