China: Stainless steel production appears to be stagnant in CY22

China, world's largest stainless steel producer and consumer, witnessed its production inching up to 32.66 million tonnes (mnt) in calendar year 2022 (CY22) by 1% as against 32.4 mnt in CY21, as per data maintained with SteelMint.

Restrictions imposed by Covid-19, price swings, an energy crisis, a short supply, and low usage of stainless steel in the nation in 2022 were all responsible for this result. Additionally, because of the lockdown, there was little demand in the construction sector, thus demand remained on the weaker side.

The prices of nickel also underwent significant swings in 2022. The price increase in March 2022 was the cause of the low nickel use in the stainless steel industry, but prices began to decline progressively by the end of June. As a result, consumption slightly increased.

Similarly, the production output in December 2022 stayed at 2.85 mnt, almost constant m-o-m.

Series-wise output

• 300 series: Out of the total production, 300 series stood at 16.69 mnt in the year 2022 against 16.33 mnt in the previous year, up by 2% y-o-y. In contrast, the production fell m-o-m to 1.42 mnt in December, 2022 as compared to 1.51 mnt, a month before.
  
  
• 200 series: The output of the 200-series recorded at 10.3 mnt, up by 5% in the assessing year compared to 9.79 mnt in the corresponding period of last year (CPLY). Similarly, in December, 2022 the production was 0.96 mnt m-o-m against 0.91 mnt in November, 2022.
  
  
• 400 series: A sharp drop of 10% was observed in the total output of 400 series stainless steel, which was 5.67 mnt in 2022 compared to 6.28 mnt in 2021. In comparison, the output grew from 0.43 mnt in the previous month to 0.48 mnt in December, 2022.
  
  

Outlook

The slowing global stainless steel market is affecting China's export market. With demand expected to recover in 2023, China's stainless steel industry is expected to recover steadily next year.