China February stainless steel production dropped to lowest since 2018

SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – China’s monthly production of stainless steel fell to the lowest since 2018 last month due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, showed the latest SMM survey.

SMM data showed that about 1.8 million mt of stainless steel was produced in China in February, down 12.08% from a month ago and 8.31% from a year ago.

China’s stainless steel production is expected to rebound in March, increasing 10.72% from February to 1.99 million mt to produce a year-over-year decline of 15.04%, as some mills will not recover to full capacity given higher inventories, thinner profits and recovering demand.

Output of 200-series stainless steel is estimated to increase 24.13% on the month to 614,100 mt, that of 300-series will rise 8.22% to 1.03 million mt, and that of 400-series is expected to grow 1.33% to 349,000 mt.

Correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the year-over-year change in stainless steel production for March.