In the first quarter of this year, world stainless crude steel output increased by one percent quarter on quarter to 10.26 million mt, increasing by 0.4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to the preliminary report released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).
According to the ISSF data, in the first quarter of this year stainless crude steel production increased by 3.7 percent in China and moved up by 1.2 percent in the Asia region excluding China, while decreasing by 16.4 percent in the Americas region, increasing by 1.6 percent in the Central and Eastern Europe region and declining by 2.6 percent in the Western Europe and Africa region, all compared with the first quarter of 2015.
Stainless crude steel production (x 1,000 metric tons):
| Region |
| Q-o-q change |
| Y-o-y change (%) | ||
| 2016-Q1 | 2015-Q4 | (%) | 2016-Q1 | 2015-Q1 | ||
| Western Europe/Africa | 1,955 | 1,780 | 9.8 | 1,955 | 2,007 | -2.6 |
| Central/Eastern Europe | 65 | 61 | 6.5 | 65 | 64 | 1.6 |
| The Americas | 642 | 601 | 6.8 | 642 | 768 | -16.4 |
| Asia (excluding China) | 2,395 | 2,385 | 0.4 | 2,395 | 2,366r | 1.2 |
| China | 5,203 | 5,324 | -2.3 | 5,203 | 5,015 | 3.7 |
| TOTAL | 10,260 | 10,152 | 1.0 | 10,260 | 10,220 | 0.4 |