Downturn of Chinese Stainless Steel Market

Status of China Stainless Steel Market

Ever since this year, South Africa, the world's largest producer and exporter of chrome ore country, faced with many problems such as excessed supply, increased production costs, and increased competitors. And China, every year, more than 96% chrome ore depends on imports and ranked second in the world's chrome ore consumption, the demand for stainless steel at the first half of this year remains in the doldrums, the chrome ore and ferrochrome import volume has been sliding obviously. The changing relationship of the global market supply and demand of chrome ore had a positive impact to China, so that let the Chinese stainless steel supplier who once have no right to speak now have a certain right to speak. It is reported that the chrome ore is mainly used in chemical, foundry, refractory and metallurgical industries, in metallurgy, chrome ore is used for high, medium and low ferrochrome smelting, is a raw material for production of stainless steel can not be replaced. Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese stainless steel demand continues to slump, this leads to a direct result of low levels of raw materials demand in stainless steel and the decline of raw material prices.

China Stainless Steel Raw Material Import Status

The data shows that imports of chrome ore of China in the first half of 2012 is 4.43 million tons, compared with the first half of 2011 imports of 500 million tons, it declines by 11.4 percent; In addition, in the first half of 2012, China imported ferrochrome is 724,600 tons, compared with the imports of the first half year of 2011 987,500 tons, it dropped about 27 percent. China, as the world's largest stainless steel tube and stainless steel sheet and others steel products producer, the world's largest ferrochrome consumption country, and the second largest chrome ore consuming countries in the world, more than 96% of chrome ore relies on imports, chrome ore, the decline of ferrochrome and chromium ore imports in China, has a direct impact on the global ferrochrome supply and demand situation .

China’s Steel Industry Downturn Affects South Africa

South Africa, as the world's largest producer and exporter of chrome ore country, suffered the demand downturn is the most obvious. Since the threshold of South African mining is relatively low, and mining investment is relatively small, low access threshold corresponding result in the excessed supply, the expansion of production bring about a crisis in the industry as a whole. At the same time, South Africa's environmental regulators are increasingly stringent, and the environmental cost is getting higher and higher, coupled with the logistics bottlenecks, in the face of Turkey’s gradually strong competition of chrome ore, the competitiveness of chrome ore in South Africa's increasingly decline. This situation is also affecting the global stainless steel industry market.

This article is come from: http://www.perfiles-de-aluminio.info/stainless-steel-tube/downturn-of-chinese-stainless-steel-market.htm