Although China’s economy and Europe’s energy woes have attracted
headlines, by percentage the greatest decline in stainless output this year has
been in the United States, where production has fallen by 13.2 percent.
European producers, with an 11.2 percent decline, also have seen reduced
activity.
By volume, however, the 1.3 million metric tons of reduced output
in China comprises more than 70 percent of the global decline.
By percentage, China produced 5.2 percent less steel in the first
nine months of this year compared with the first three quarters of 2021. The
rest of Asia, meanwhile, nearly held steady in its output, with just a 0.4
percent drop so far this year.
Based on a 2015 study, World Stainless estimates that scrap metal
makes up about 44 percent of feedstock consumed by stainless melt shops
globally. The Reston, Virginia-based U.S. Geological Survey estimates that “in
2021, recycled nickel in all forms accounted for approximately 52 of apparent
consumption” at nickel and nickel alloy melt shops in the U.S.