The output of 300-series Stainless Steel to Rise by over 6% in 2022 on the Continuous Commissioning of New Capacity

SHANGHAI, Dec 30 (SMM) - Shandong Xinhai Industrial released its high-end stainless steel project capacity replacement plan. The construction project is Shandong Xinhai Industrial. The equipment includes a 60-mt electric furnace, a 60-mt AOD refining furnace, and an LF refining furnace, with 460,000 mt/year of production capacity. The exit project is Shandong Yanzhou Alloy. The time for dismantling is in accordance with the regulations on capacity replacement and the requirements of the provincial government. Estimated commissioning time is July 2022.

The new projects of Jiangsu Zhongtuo and Delong Phase II are expected to be put into operation in Q1 of 2022. The new capacity of stainless steel totals 3.52 million mt in 2022. The capacity that can be put into operation stands at 2.22 millio mt in H1 of 2022. 

The output of stainless steel in 2021 totalled 32.2 million mt, up 8% YoY. Among them, the main increase comes from 300-series and 400-series stainless steel. The output of 300-series stainless steel crude steel increased by 10.2% year-on-year to 16.32 million mt, and the output of 400-series stainless steel rose by 16.5% year-on-year to 6.33 million mt. The output of 200-series stainless steel fell 0.8% YoY to 9.55 million mt. 

The total stainless steel output in 2022 is expected to stand at about 33.25 million mt, an increase of about 3.2%. The increase mainly comes from the 300-series stainless steel, which will increase by about 6% year-on-year.

The new production capacity is likely to record 6.46 million mt in 2023, among which projects with a higher probability of commissioning are the Jiangsu Delong Liyang project and Shandong Xinhai Industrial. After 2024, it is expected that there will still be a large number of new capacity under construction, but they are all in the planning stage with great uncertainty.