In 2013, European stainless crude steel production decreased by four percent to 7.45 million metric tons, with German production decreased by 17 percent, Sweden's production fell two percent and Slovenia's production up 11 percent, all compared to 2012, according to the Stainless Steel Report March 2014 issued by Germany-based service center Damstahl.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of this year European stainless crude steel production increased by 10 percent year on year, due to improved demand from end-users and particularly distributors.
According to the report, it is expected that demand for stainless steel in Europe will grow by around 3-4 year on year percent in 2014, driven by a positive development in most major end-use segments. The outlook for building and construction sector in 2014 in European countries is positive, especially in Germany. The revenue of German building sector is expected to grow 3.5 percent year on year. It's expected that the demand will also improve in other European countries, but not as strong as Germany. In 2014, consumer goods sector in Europe is expected to increase by 1-2 percent, while expected growth of automotive sector is four percent, both on year on year. However stainless demand will grow only by two percent due to elevated stock levels at exhaust manufacturers.
