May 22, 2008

World stainless steel production to rise in 2008

BRUSSELS

Stainless steel production in 2008 will recover after a 2.6 per cent decrease last year, says The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).

The ISSF expects production to reach 29-million tons this year, after having slumped to 27.7 million tons in 2007.

The ISSF said that Asia, driven by China, would grow its production by around seven per cent this year to 17.2-million tons.The second-largest stainless producing area was Western Europe/Africa, which was hit by production losses in the second-half of 2007, bringing about a full year production drop of 13.3 per cent to 2.7 million tons. The ISSF forecasts 2008 production to grow by 4.4 per cent to 9.1-million tons.

In the Americas, the ISSF expects an increase of 3.7 per cent in production in 2008 to 2.7-million tons, after production decreased by almost 12 per cent in the region during 2007.

DCN News Services

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