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The expected rate of demand and consumption in China will be double that of other regions over the next two years. This alters the global forecast into a positive global outlook, but might be unattainable for regions outside China. The following graphics provide more detail on the forms of stainless steel being consumed at a global level. Global consumption figures highlight the decrease in hot-rolled flat products, with a forecast of lateral movement for 2025. Long products are making a good recovery from a slump in 2023. The overall consumption of all forms at a global level remains stable within the 3% to 4% range.
various organisations, including the South African Iron and Steel Institute, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and Columbus Stainless. Local production is driven by exports to the European Union but remains severely restricted by the protective measures imposed by the EU on steel supply into the region. In 2022, local production was recorded at 288 090 tons, which declined to 218 394 tons in 2023. It is encouraging to report that local production ended 2024 on a positive note, yielding a total of 269 511 tons for the year. However, this still represents only about 30% of production capacity.
Local Production
Across global regions, there was negative growth in all forms during 2023, except in China. During 2024, all regions except China saw an improvement in consumption across all forms. It is also forecasted that this trend will continue at a reduced rate into 2025.
In 2022, imports were recorded at 202 578 tons, declining to 147 886 tons in 2023. There was a substantial increase in imports during 2024, with a total of 176 025 tons. However, this figure still falls short of the 2022 level and remains significantly lower than the 353 093 tons imported in 2018.
Imports
The European and African regions can expect reasonable growth across all forms. While South Africa’s contribution to stainless steel consumption in the Euro/Africa region is marginal, it is hoped that this trend will be reflected locally. The statistics for the region up to 2024 correlate well with local statistics, giving Sassda good reason to believe that consumption growth will continue in 2025. This is underwritten by the fact that Sassda sources its data from
The export tonnage for 2022 was recorded at 42 884 tons, declining to 37144 tons in 2023. The total export volume for 2024 was 44 124 tons, which is close to the 2018 figure of 44 102 tons.
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Issue 1 – 2025
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