An in-depth analysis of the Chinese stainless steel industry conducted by SMI during the past three months revealed Chinese stainless steel production accounted for 50.5% of the global output in 2013. For the first time, Chinese producers melted more than 20Mt of stainless steel, catapulting the global melt production to over 40Mt.
The total stainless crude production climbed to 20.5Mt in 2013, up 17% from 17.5Mt in 2012, and finished product output reached 18Mt, up 16% from 15.5Mt in 2012. Production volumes of more than 100 Chinese plants (including around 60 with own melting) were aggregated, and all double-counting was eliminated.
The crude output of the major state-owned and foreign-invested producers – TISCO, Baosteel, LISCO, ZPSS, JISCO, Dongbei – increased by 11% in 2013. Private producers contributed to most of the growth: their combined crude production rose by 24 % in 2013.
The biggest increase came from Tsingshan Group, which is the second largest producer of stainless steel in China behind the state-owned giant TISCO. Eight producers, including newcomer Beihai Chengde that started production in 2012 in southern Guangxi Province, melted more than 1Mt in 2013.
