Stainless steel output rises in 2025

Global stainless steel production reached 64.2 million metric tons (mmt) in 2025, representing a 2.1 percent increase compared to 2024.

The output figure has been calculated by the WorldStainless office of the Brussels-based World Steel Association and represents production in the nations reporting to it.

According to the group, China produced more than 40.8 mmt of stainless steel in 2025, representing 64 percent of global output. Mills in the rest of Asia made another 14.4 mmt, giving Asia 86.2 percent of global market share.

China, which holds about 17 percent of the world’s population, reinforced its market dominance last year by raising its output by 3.6 percent—surpassing the global growth figure of 2.1 percent.

Efforts to regain market share for producers in the United States and the European Union show differing results in 2025.

Mills in the United States, where the administration of Donald J. Trump has been introducing a stream of tariffs on metal and other goods, produced 7.6 percent more stainless steel last year compared with 2024.

In the European Union, where policymakers and metals producers have been engaged in a lengthy process to support the continent’s melt shops, stainless steel output dropped by 1.9 percent last year compared with 2024.

In both regions, total output remains well below that of China. Mills in the U.S. made about 2.1 mmt of stainless steel last year and those in Europe produced more than 5.6 mmt, compared with China’s nearly 41 mmt, according to WorldStainless.

For recyclers of stainless steel, the dominance of Chinese output has contributed to a ceiling on scrap prices throughout much of this century, with Chinese producers being far more reliant on nickel pig iron rather than tapping into the global scrap supply.