MEPS forecasts record stainless steel production during 2015

By  Paul Ploumis 12 Aug 2015  Last updated at  03:10:34 GMT

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): MEPS-the leading steel sector consulting company has stated that global crude stainless steel production is all set to hit record levels during the current year. According to MEPS, the global production is predicted to grow marginally by 1.2% year-on-year to hit 42.2 million tons during 2015. The global production had registered significant growth of 8.3% in 2014 to total 41.7 million tons.

The report states that China continues to be the main driver of global crude stainless steel output. Although domestic demand in China has reported steady declines during recent months, the overall output by the country is expected to remain a tad higher than the previous year. It also notes that Chinese exports of stainless steel to the European region is likely to slow down further on account of anti-dumping measures initiated by several importing countries in the region.

The imports of stainless steel products by EU region have dropped significantly during the initial half of the year. However, the domestic stainless steel production too reported weaker-than expected figures during the initial six-month period of the year.

According to MEPS, the Chinese crude stainless steel production is expected to rise marginally by 2.1% year-on-year to 22.15 million tons in 2015. Also, South Korean output is predicted to grow by 2.8% to total 2.08 million tons during the year. The annual production by Taiwan is expected to post strong growth of 5.2% to total 1.17 million tons.

MEPS (International) Ltd. is a leading independent supplier of steel market information. The agency has coverage of markets pertaining to 28 countries spread over five continents. The figures published by MEPS are considered as benchmark values by industry experts.