Stainless steel output rises in first quarter of 2016

Figures released by the Brussels-based International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) show stainless steel melt shop production increasing by 0.4% in the first three months of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015.

Melt shop production in the first quart of 2016 checked in at nearly 10.3 million tonnes, according to the ISSF, with production increasing in China, the rest of Asia and in Central and Eastern Europe.

China produced more than half of the world’s stainless steel in the first quarter of 2016, with slightly more than 5.2 million tonnes of melt shop output.

However, stainless steel production in North, Central and South America declined by more than 16% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to 2015, falling from 768,000 tonnes to 642,000 tonnes.