Stainless melt shops quieter in 2022

Stainless steel melt shop production decreased by 5.1 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2022 compared with last year, according to Brussels-based WorldStainless.

The 41.9 million metric tons of stainless steel made globally in the first nine months of 2022 is down by more than 2 million metric tons compared with the same time frame in 2021.

Although China’s economy and Europe’s energy woes have attracted headlines, by percentage the greatest decline in stainless output this year has been in the United States, where production has fallen by 13.2 percent. European producers, with an 11.2 percent decline, also have seen reduced activity.

By volume, however, the 1.3 million metric tons of reduced output in China comprises more than 70 percent of the global decline.

By percentage, China produced 5.2 percent less steel in the first nine months of this year compared with the first three quarters of 2021. The rest of Asia, meanwhile, nearly held steady in its output, with just a 0.4 percent drop so far this year.

Based on a 2015 study, WorldStainless estimates scrap metal makes up about 44 percent of feedstock consumed by stainless melt shops globally. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that “in 2021, recycled nickel in all forms accounted for approximately 52 of apparent consumption” at nickel and nickel alloy melt shops in the U.S.