Global stainless steel output to hit record highs in 2015: MEPS

Author: Paul Ploumis
08 May 2015 Last updated at 02:15:04 GMT
SPOKANE (Scrap Monster) : MEPS- the leading steel sector consultancy company has predicted that the global crude stainless steel output is all set to hit new highs during the current year. According to MEPS, the global production is predicted to grow by 3.4% during 2015 to reach a new record of 43.1 million tonnes. The global output had totaled 41.7 million tonnes in 2014, registering robust growth of 8.3% when compared with 2013.

The crude stainless steel production by the European region totaled 7.2 million tonnes in 2014, 1.4% higher when compared with the previous year. However, the 2014 crude stainless steel output by the EU region remained significantly lower by 23% when compared with the peak production achieved during 2006. The EU consumption is expected to pick up in short to medium term on account of antidumping duties imposed on cold rolled coil imports from China and Taiwan.

The US crude stainless steel output surged higher by almost 16% in 2014 to over 2.3 million tonnes. MEPS predicts modest output growth in the US during 2015. The crude stainless steel output by the US is likely to total around 2.4 million tonnes during the year. Similarly, Japanese output is expected to grow moderately to 3.35 million tonnes in 2015. The country’s output had expanded by nearly 5% in 2014 to total 3.3 million tonnes.

The Taiwanese output rose nearly 2.6% in 2014 to 1.1 million tonnes. However, the growth is likely to stagnate during this year. On the other hand, crude stainless steel production by South Korea dropped nearly 4.3% during last year to total just over 2 million tonnes. MEPS forecasts marginal rise of 1.5% in the country’s output during 2015.