NEW STAINLESS STEEL RECORD OUTPUT IN 2006

摘要

World production of crude stainless steel fell last year, but should stage a recovery in 2006, according to MEPS forecasts. Estimated output in the first quarter of this year has increased from the low levels of periods three and four last year, but remains below the comparable period of 2005. We estimate that crude stainless steel production in the western world (excluding China and Russia) reached 20.81 million tonnes in 2005. This was a decline of just over 1 million tonnes, or 4.8 percent, in 2004.