World stainless production seen rising 6% in 2006

Staff -- Purchasing, 12/8/2005

The International Stainless Steel Forum expects the underlying demand for stainless steel products to rise by around 5% during 2006. That's why speakers at the ISSF latest conference in Seoul expect world stainless production to set a record next year. Nirmal Mathur, president of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association, forecasts that global stainless steel output will increase by 6% to 26.5 million metric tons.

This bullish smelting growth projection for next year was significant enough to generate coverage by several world news services because this year's 2% growth rate to 25 million metric tons was well below forecast due to lackluster world purchasing.

Mathur acknowledges at the ISSF conference that this year's sluggish production growth rate was due to high prices of such raw materials as nickel and ferrochrome as well as the need for several regions, including North America, to reduce excess stocks. Still, attendees at the International Iron and Steel Institute-sponsored conference were told that projected 2006 North American production will shown a rise of 3.1% to nearly 3 million metric tons.

Reuters News Service reports that speakers at the conference put stainless steel consumption in China in 2005 at 5.75 million metric tons. The forecast for Chinese stainless steel demand is 12 million metric tons by calendar 2014.