Global stainless steel production rises 5% y-o-y in H1 CY’26

Global stainless steel melt shop production increased 5% y-o-y to 33.0 million tonnes (mnt) in H1CY’26, according to world stainless, with growth primarily driven by Asia, particularly China. This marks an acceleration from CY’25, when global crude stainless steel production had climbed up by 2% y-o-y. Additionally, production momentum strengthened considerably as the second quarter progressed, given that global output was higher by only 2.5% in Q1CY’26. Global crude stainless steel production in Q2CY’26 stood at 17.2 mnt, a 7.6% increase y-o-y.