Stainless sector awaits growth

The latest economic data from the European Commission indicates a 0.3% GDP increase for the opening quarter of 2024, the first indication of growth since the fourth quarter of 2022.

This headline figure is quoted by the chairman of BIR’s stainless steel and special alloys committee, Joost van Kleef, who notes that a recovery in the stainless segment is still awaited.

‘In this environment, European stainless use and production saw a considerable reduction,’ van Kleef writes in the latest BIR Mirror on the sector. European output of crude stainless steel declined by more than 6% last year to 5.9 million tonnes despite the typical seasonal improvement in the fourth quarter.

Ongoing weakness

‘This year started stronger than expected, supported by a further seasonal uptick in stainless steel demand as well as historically low imports and import penetration levels,’ he adds.

‘European scrap availability continued to be affected by ongoing weakness in industrial and manufacturing activities. During the first two months of the year, the EU recorded an increase of more than 50% in net imports of stainless scrap from third countries when compared to the same period in 2023.’

Fellow board member Ritesh Maheshwari, from Shabro International in India, reports that ferro-nickel in now subject to Bureau of Indian Standards certification, thus impacting imports. This is likely to encourage stainless steel scrap imports for the time being.

Jindal investment

Meanwhile, Maheshwari writes, leading producer Jindal Stainless has unveiled investment of US$ 650 million (EUR 600 million) in downstream and upstream capacities. A joint venture will develop and operate a stainless steel melt shop in Indonesia with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes, taking the company’s overall capacity to 4.2 million tonnes.

Jindal Stainless will also invest in its downstream lines in Jajpur to process an increase in melting capacity. The company is acquiring a 54% equity stake in Chromeni Steels, which owns a 0.6 million tonnes per annum cold rolling mill in Mundra.