During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, my country's stainless steel industry has moved forward steadily in a complex market environment, overcoming challenges such as raw material price fluctuations, slowing demand growth, and international trade frictions, and has made significant progress in production capacity, technological level, and industrial structure.
1.The production capacity scale is leading in the world, and the industrial concentration has increased.
According to the data of the Stainless Steel Branch of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, in 2024, china stainless steel output will reach 39.44 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.54%, accounting for 63% of the global output, ranking first in the world for many consecutive years. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the concentration of my country's stainless steel industry continued to increase. The combined production capacity of leading enterprises such as China Baowu, Tsingshan Group, and Jiangsu Delong accounted for more than 60% of the country, and the industrial agglomeration effect was significant.
2.The product structure continued to be optimized.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the adjustment of the structure of stainless steel varieties in my country was accelerated.Among them, the proportion of 300 series stainless steel increased from 47.99% in 2020 to 51.45% in 2024, and the proportion of duplex stainless steel increased from 0.62% to 1.04%. At the same time, my country's stainless steel product research and development and application have made new breakthroughs: in 2020, TISCO Stainless Steel produced 0.015 mm precision thin strips; Qingtuo Group developed and industrially produced economical and energy-saving duplex stainless steel QD2001; the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and TISCO jointly developed 316KD stainless steel for the fourth-generation nuclear power sodium-cooled demonstration fast reactor; Northeast Special Steel has developed ultra-high magnetic properties strips, A286 high-temperature alloy coated coils to replace imports, new high-strength precipitation-hardening stainless steel HPBS1200 for weapons, high-temperature alloy ERNiCrMo-3, HSRD series high-end stainless steel welding wires for new ultra-supercritical high-pressure boilers, and large-size 316H stainless steel bars for 600 MW demonstration fast reactor projects. In 2021, Jiugang developed ultra-high carbon martensitic stainless steel 6Cr13 for high-end razors, breaking the foreign monopoly; TISCO launched the world's first 0.07 mm ultra-flat stainless steel precision strip and non-textured surface stainless precision strip; Qingtuo Group launched the first domestic environmentally friendly lead-free bismuth-containing tin ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel for mass production in pen tip manufacturing, and its cutting performance, corrosion resistance and ink stability and other technical indicators are leading in China. In 2022, Fushun Special Steel's urea-grade SH010 stainless steel pipes passed EU certification and achieved domestic substitution; TISCO's SUS630 stainless steel cold-rolled plate successfully solved the "bottleneck" problem of my country's printed circuit board industry; Qingtuo Group developed high-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel QN2109-LH for ultra-low temperature hydrogen storage. In 2023, TISCO's super ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel TFC22-X will be delivered in batches to leading domestic fuel cell companies; road crash barriers made of Beigang's new material GN500 stainless steel have passed three types of real vehicle impact tests; Qingtuo Group's high-strength and economical stainless steel will be supplied in batches to prefabricated building projects. In 2024, the world's wide-width and large-unit-weight lanthanum-containing iron-chromium-aluminum products will be launched in TISCO, and the advanced ultra-supercritical power station boiler key component material C5 developed by TISCO-TISCO Steel Pipe-Iron and Steel Research Institute will be successfully localized. TISCO will successfully mass-produce ultra-pure precision alloy 4J36 foil for mask plates and successfully trial-produce large-unit-weight and wide-width N06625 nickel-based alloy hot-rolled coils; Ideal Auto and Qingtuo Group's jointly developed high-strength and tough stainless steel will roll off the production line; Taishan Steel's Zibo Stainless Steel Application Innovation Base Project-the country's first stainless steel full-building customized green building project will be completed.
3.The level of technical equipment is internationally leading, and the intelligent transformation is accelerating.
At present, my country's stainless steel industry technical equipment has reached the international advanced level from introduction, digestion to independent innovation. TISCO Xinhai Base adopts the world's most efficient and competitive RKEF (rotary kiln-submerged arc furnace) + AOD (argon oxygen refining furnace) process, newly builds 2×120-ton AOD furnaces, 2×1 machine 1-stream stainless steel slab continuous casting machines, introduces the world's first 2250 wide double-frame furnace coil mill for stainless steel production, and newly builds 1×2100 mm + 1×1600 mm hot acid annealing units; Qingtuo Group builds the world's first "hot rolling-hot annealing-online surface treatment" integrated medium and thick plate production line. In terms of intelligent manufacturing, Shangshang Desheng Group's future factory has achieved seamless interconnection between equipment and information systems through digital design methods and intelligent technology.
4.The internationalization process of my country's stainless steel industry chain has accelerated.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, my country's stainless steel industry will build nickel iron and ferrochrome plants in nickel-chromium resource areas. Chinese companies such as China Steel and Minmetals have invested in chromite resources in South Africa, Zimbabwe and other places. The two major companies have nearly 260 million tons and 236 million tons of ferrochrome resources respectively. The Indonesian ferronickel projects of Qingshan Weida Bay Industrial Park, Zhenshi Group, Taishan Steel, Liqin Resources and other companies have been put into production one after another, and ferronickel has been supplied to the domestic market. Qingshan Indonesian high-grade nickel matte is supplied to the domestic market and has begun commercial production of refined nickel. The hot test of Xiangyu Group's 2.5 million tons of stainless steel integrated smelting project in Indonesia was successful. Jiuli Group acquired the German century-old company EBK to further expand the international market for composite pipes.
1.The high degree of external dependence on raw materials and prominent supply chain risks.
My country's nickel sulfide ore resources account for 5.1% of the world's total, and its chromium ore reserves account for only 0.001% of the world's total. Affected by this, the nickel-chromium resources needed to produce stainless steel are almost entirely dependent on imports. As my country's stainless steel production continues to increase, its dependence on nickel-chromium resources will become increasingly higher, threatening the safety of my country's stainless steel industry.
2.The contradiction between supply and demand has intensified, and corporate profits are under pressure.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, my country's stainless steel production capacity continued to expand, but its capacity utilization rate declined. At the end of 2020, the national stainless steel production capacity was about 38 million tons, and the capacity utilization rate was about 79.3%; by the end of 2024, the national stainless steel production capacity was about 52.5 million tons, and the capacity utilization rate dropped to about 75%, and there were still more than 5 million tons of capacity under (planned) construction in China. In 2024, the overall profit of my country's stainless steel industry declined, hovering near the break-even line. The bankruptcy and reorganization of Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry and the sale of Posco's equity in Posco Zhangjiagang by Posco in South Korea are all manifestations of the industry's predicament. In order to maintain cash flow and maintain stable production, the stainless steel industry presents a "low price and high production" situation. At the same time, countries and regions covering more than 60% of overseas consumer demand markets have introduced a number of trade protection policies for my country's stainless steel products, which has seriously affected my country's stainless steel export business.
3.High-end products still need to be imported, and innovation capabilities need to be improved urgently.
At present, low-end products still account for a large proportion of my country's stainless steel products. In some key areas, the quality of stainless steel varieties still needs to be improved. Some high-precision stainless steel products are still difficult to meet domestic demand and still need to be imported, such as high-temperature and high-pressure hydrogen working furnace tubes and heat exchange stainless tubes, high-temperature and high-pressure hydrogen working large-diameter process pipelines, urea-grade stainless steel pipelines and stainless steel plates, heat exchanger plates that require large deformation volume processing, and wide and thick plates with harsh high-temperature or low-temperature working conditions.
4.Demand growth is insufficient, and emerging application areas need to be developed.
As my country's economy enters a new normal, the growth of traditional manufacturing slows down, and the demand for stainless steel decreases accordingly. In particular, industries such as elevators and automobiles are particularly weak in demand growth due to market saturation and consumption upgrades. In addition, the demand for stainless steel in emerging markets such as new energy vehicles and medical devices has not yet been fully released, and the overall demand growth momentum is insufficient.
From the perspective of opportunities, my country's stainless steel industry is currently facing multiple development opportunities. First, at the policy level, the country continues to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. It has not only introduced a series of measures to support the green and intelligent transformation of the stainless steel industry, but also forced enterprises to accelerate technological upgrading from the policy level, prompting the industry to achieve breakthroughs in energy conservation, emission reduction, process optimization, etc. With the in-depth promotion of the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the demand for infrastructure construction in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions has increased significantly, creating opportunities for the export of products and overseas production capacity layout of my country's stainless steel enterprises. Second, in terms of technological innovation, the deep integration of new generation information technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence) and big data with stainless steel production has effectively promoted the industry to move towards intelligent manufacturing. From intelligent detection to improve product quality stability, to process simulation to optimize production processes, technological innovation is becoming the core driving force for the upgrading of the stainless steel industry and improving product performance. Third, in the field of high-end demand, emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, hydrogen energy, and nuclear power have flourished, giving rise to a strong demand for high-performance stainless steel, such as corrosion-resistant and conductive stainless steel plates required in fuel cell systems, and special materials for hydrogen storage in ultra-low temperature environments. These high-end application scenarios have opened up new market space for the industry.
From the perspective of challenges, the challenges currently faced by my country's stainless steel industry have been comprehensively upgraded. First, in terms of market competition, the continuous expansion of domestic production capacity and the release of emerging overseas production capacity such as Indonesia have led to a fierce competition in the global stainless steel market. Companies may escalate the "price war" to compete for market share, compressing the industry's profit margins. Second, in terms of resource constraints, the prices of key raw materials such as nickel and chromium have increased due to factors such as geopolitics and market speculation, and the supply chain security risks have increased significantly. At the same time, the scrap stainless steel recycling system is still imperfect, and the external dependence of raw materials is still high, further increasing the cost pressure of enterprises. Third, in terms of green transformation, trade barriers such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) directly push up export costs, and domestic carbon emission dual control policies are becoming increasingly stringent. Enterprises need to increase investment in energy-saving technology transformation and clean energy substitution, and the transformation cost continues to rise. In the international trade environment, developed countries frequently restrict the export of my country's stainless steel products in the name of "green barriers" and "technical standards", while countries and regions such as India and Southeast Asia take over the transfer of low-end production capacity with their cost advantages. Against this background, my country's international stainless steel market space is facing the risk of being eroded.
1.Focus on specialization and high-end development
International leading companies such as Sweden's Sandvik and Germany's ThyssenKrupp have long focused on the field of high-end stainless steel. Relying on years of technological accumulation, they have built technical barriers in the market segments such as radiation-resistant stainless steel for nuclear power equipment and high-strength lightweight materials for aerospace. Their product performance and process standards have long dominated the global market discourse. Although my country occupies a global leading position in the scale of stainless steel production capacity, there is still a significant supply gap in the high-end market. In this regard, my country should guide key enterprises with solid foundations and sound R&D systems to accelerate the transformation towards "specialization, precision and innovation". Through policy support and market resource inclination, we should promote enterprises to make breakthroughs in high-performance stainless steel and other sub-sectors, and enhance product added value with professional R&D capabilities; ensure quality stability through refined production control, and build differentiated competitive advantages based on characteristic technical routes, and finally occupy a more advantageous position in the global high-end stainless steel industry chain.
2.Strengthen the technological innovation system
Japanese companies such as JFE and Nippon Steel have formed continuous technological iteration capabilities by building a full-chain innovation system of "basic research-application development-industrial transformation". Their R&D investment has long been above 3%, ensuring their technological leadership in the field of high-end stainless steel materials. my country's stainless steel industry still has shortcomings in key technologies such as high-purity smelting and precision molding. It needs to significantly increase the intensity of R&D investment, rely on leading enterprises to unite universities, research institutes and downstream users, build a collaborative innovation platform for industry, academia, research and application, focus on key areas such as extreme environment resistant materials and intelligent manufacturing processes, carry out joint research, break the foreign technology monopoly, and achieve the transformation from "scale leadership" to "technology leadership".
3.Optimize the industrial layout and strengthen coordination
Through continuous mergers and reorganizations, European and American stainless steel companies have not only optimized the regional production capacity layout, but also built an upstream and downstream collaborative industrial ecosystem covering mining resources, smelting and processing, and terminal applications, effectively improving the stability of the supply chain and cost control capabilities. However, my country's stainless steel industry has problems of dispersed production capacity and insufficient upstream and downstream coordination. my country should guide leading enterprises to give play to the integration effect, and promote the construction of an integrated industrial chain of "raw material procurement-smelting and manufacturing-deep processing-terminal application" through capital operation and technical cooperation. At the same time, strengthen strategic coordination with nickel-chromium mineral resource countries, equipment suppliers and downstream industries to form a large-scale and intensive industrial development pattern.
4.Promote green and low-carbon development
With the extensive application of green technologies such as efficient recycling of scrap steel (utilization rate exceeds 60%) and cascade utilization of energy (waste heat power generation accounts for 15%), the carbon emission intensity of EU stainless steel enterprises is more than 20% lower than the global average, and they have taken the initiative in trade policies such as the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism. Faced with the dual pressures of the "dual carbon" goal and international green trade barriers, my country should accelerate the research and development of low-carbon processes, and at the same time establish a carbon footprint accounting system covering the entire life cycle, integrate green manufacturing standards into the entire chain such as raw material procurement, production and processing, logistics and transportation, and enhance international market competitiveness through green product certification and carbon asset operation.
5.Enhance the voice of international standards
At present, the dominance of the international stainless steel standard system is mainly in the hands of European and American companies, resulting in the frequent technical barriers to the export of my country's high-end stainless steel products. my country should support industry associations and leading enterprises to actively participate in the work of the International Organization for Standardization, transform my country's technological innovations in the fields of rare earth stainless steel, corrosion-resistant alloys, etc. into international standards, promote the application and demonstration of "Chinese standards" in countries and regions along the "Belt and Road", and enhance the voice of my country's stainless steel industry in the global industrial chain through standard output, breaking the standard monopoly of European and American countries.
Royal Steel Co., Ltd. is a modern enterprise integrating steel production, processing, sales and logistics services. Headquartered in Tianjin, the company has advanced production equipment, a professional technical team and a complete quality management system, and is committed to providing customers with high-quality steel products and comprehensive solutions. We mainly sell hot-rolled coils, cold-rolled plates, galvanized plates, stainless steel, rebar, wire rods and other steel products, which are widely used in construction, machinery manufacturing, automobiles, home appliances, energy and other industries. Provide customized processing services such as cutting, bending, welding, and spraying to meet the diverse needs of customers. With an efficient warehousing and logistics system, ensure that products are delivered to customers in a timely and safe manner.
Royal Steel Co., Ltd. has always taken "innovation, quality, and responsibility" as its core values, continuously optimized the layout of the industrial chain, and actively promoted the green development of the industry. In the future, we will continue to work together with domestic and foreign partners for a win-win situation and contribute to the development of global industry!
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Post time: Jul-23-2025