Global stainless steel melt shop production reached 10.366 million mt in the first quarter of this year, up a marginal 0.1% from output of 10.359 million mt in Q1 2014 and up 1% from output of 10.259 million mt in Q4 2014, according to recent figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).
Production rose in the Americas, where output of 768,000 mt was up 14.7% year-on-year and up 7.2% from Q4 levels.
Output in Asia outside of China was up, standing at 2.513 million mt in Q1, up 6% from Q1 2014 and 14.2% from Q4 last year.
Output in China experienced a small decline, however. Production stood at 5.014 million mt in Q1, down 1.4% from 5.084 million mt in Q1 2014 and down 11.6% from 5.67 million mt in Q4 2014.