Nov 24, 2025 14:57

The Asian stainless steel market has traded its era of symbiotic cooperation for a brutal zero-sum game. A tidal wave of low-cost capacity from China and Indonesia has shattered the old supply chain order, forcing traditional powerhouses like Japan and Korea into retreat. As the region scrambles to cope with this structural imbalance, the response has been a sharp rise in trade barriers and protectionism. In short, the days of integrated growth are over; the new reality is a fractured landscape defined by chronic oversupply and fierce survivalism.