Global stainless steel production falls by 5% y-o-y in 2022

The World Stainless Steel Association's latest production report has revealed that in 2022, global melt shop production of stainless steel fell by 5.2% year-on-year (y-o-y), reaching 55.3 million tonne (mnt).

This drop in production was due to various factors, including Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions.

Region-wise stainless steel production

Chinese market

The production of China inched down by 2% y-o-y to 31,975 t during 2022 as compared to the same period last year which was about 32,632 t. In 2022, the Q4 production was 8,518 t, it increased by 18% from 7,207 t in Q3.

European market

Europe's stainless steel production dropped by 12.4% y-o-y to 6,294 t in 2022 compared to 7,181 t in 2021, according to the World Stainless Steel Association. Production in Q4 2021 was 1,767 t, which fell by 14.9% to 1,503 t in Q4 2022. However, the production increased by 29% from 1,169 t in Q3 2022.

The US market

The US' stainless steel production fell by almost 15% y-o-y to 2,017 t in 2022 as compared to 2,368 t in the same period last year. The production in Q4 2021 was 538 t which almost fell by 20% to 429 t in Q4 2022, there was a downfall of 14% from 500 t in Q3 2022.

Asia's market

Asia's overall stainless steel production witnessed a downfall of 4.8% to 7,411 t in 2022 as compared to 2021 which was around 7,792 t. The Q4 2022 production was 1,773 t. It fell by 12.35%, from 2,023 t in 2021. The steel production remained almost stable in Q4 2022, from Q3 2022.