Global stainless steel production hit a new record at 30.7 million tonnes in 2010 after three years of decline, and China was the major driving force, the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) said on Monday. Production rose about 25 percent from the previous year's level mainly due to economic recovery, strong demand by end users, re-stocking at service centres and fabricators and the re-filling of the internal supply chain in stainless steel mills, ISSF said in a statement.
For 2011 ISSF expects a further increase of global stainless steel production based on strong end-user demand, but some threats may arise from price bubbles in raw materials and energy, it said. China was the largest producing area and registered a 27.8 percent output increase to 11.26 million tonnes in 2010.
Other Asian countries produced 8.61 million tonnes, up 20.8 percent compared with 2009. All Asian stainless steel producers now account for 65 percent of the entire world's stainless steel production, ISSF underlined. Western Europe and Africa together accounted for 7.87 million tonnes in 2010, up 22.1 percent from the previous year. Stainless steel production in the Americas was at 2.61 million, or 34.4 percent up from 2009. Central and Eastern Europe rose 43.6 percent in 2010 but from a very low base.
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