Production cuts may occur as stainless steel producers try to push prices up

The global crude stainless steel production forecast has been reduced by 800,000 tonnes to 59 million tonnes, indicating an increase of 6.8 percent from 2022.

To rebalance supply and demand, producers in Europe and Japan are exploring measures such as temporary shutdowns, maintenance outages and production cuts. In the Eurozone and the United States, the manufacturing PMI remained below 50, signalling contraction. The EU stainless steel production forecast for 2023 has been reduced to 6.2 million tonnes due to high energy costs, inflation, interest rates and the recession in Germany.

High stocks of European stainless steel lead to reluctance to make large volume purchases and concerns about solvency. South Korea's forecast was increased due to the return of POSCO's steel production facilities. In China, there are doubts about the economic recovery with a decrease in construction projects and lower than expected demand. In the United States, the decrease in stainless steel consumption is expected to be less severe and reduced imports are expected to increase demand for domestically produced stainless steel.