“200 SERIES” STAINLESS STEEL ON THE RISE
17 May 2004 - International Iron and Steel Institute

The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has released a survey of its members on the production of stainless steel by grade structures. The survey, based on 20 million tons of crude stainless steel produced in 2003, showed that low nickel “200 series” accounted for 7.5% (or 1.5 mmt) of the worldwide stainless crude steel output.

Almost 72% of crude stainless production in 2003 was of conventional austenitic chromium-nickel grades (“300 series”). Approximately 21% of production was of ferritic “400 series”. Duplex stainless steels achieved a market share just under 0.5%. The volume of austenitic and ferritic molybdenum-containing steels was approximately 1.8 million tons.

Due to the volatility in the price of nickel the discussion about replacing conventional nickel-containing austenitic grades (the “300 series”) grew worldwide. This discussion was concentrated in and around China – the strongest growing and by far the largest stainless steel market in the world.

Since mid-2002 the Chinese market has started demanding these low nickel austenitic grades and their consumption is accelerating in China. This raises some concern if the “200 series” grades are used in applications they were not designed for and could be exposed to corrosion attack.

Until mid-2002 the austenitic chromium-manganese “200 series” and its derivatives were considered as a regional issue in India. These stainless steel grades gained importance in India during the last nickel price crisis at the end of the 1980s.

http://www.worldsteel.org

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