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🌍 Global Stainless Steel Power Shift: Asia's Rise, Europe's Reckoning

  • Writer: 鋼鐵 東育
    鋼鐵 東育
  • Jun 2
  • 3 min read


Issued by DONG-YU STAINLESS STEEL ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. June 1, 2025 | Valencia, Spain BIR World Recycling Congress

At the recent BIR World Recycling Congress in Valencia, a clear message echoed across the stainless steel sector: the epicenter of global influence has shifted. Once dominated by European giants, the stainless steel industry is now being redefined by the dual engines of China and Indonesia, whose integrated scale, cost advantage, and technological advancements have redrawn the power map.



🔹 Asia's Twin Engines: A New Global Center of Gravity

In the current global supply landscape, no other region rivals the combined industrial force of China and Indonesia.

1.      Tsingshan Holding Group, alone, now contributes 30% of the world's stainless steel output, with its 8-million-ton mega-base in Indonesia now matching the combined capacity of the entire European Union.

2.      In the austenitic stainless sector, Chinese firms control over 40% of global supply.

3.      Indonesia's output is expected to grow 20% YoY in 2025, powered by abundant laterite nickel resources and vertically integrated production. Its partnership model“Indonesian Resources + Chinese Technology”has created a cost structure up to 30% more competitive than European peers.

India, while showing strong regional growth (13% YoY to 3.7 million tons), remains outside the global top tier due to marginal declines in stainless scrap imports and limited international influence.



🔹 Europe's Retreat: From Industrial Vanguard to Margin Player

Europe, once a stainless steel stronghold, now faces structural decline.

1.      Over the past 25 years, Europe's share of global stainless steel production plummeted from 40% to under 10%.

2.      Markus Moll, Managing Director at SMR Austria, warns that without swift action, the European market may halve again in the next decade.

3.      Supply chains remain fragmented. Trade barriers from the U.S. and over-reliance on imported nickel continue to erode cost competitiveness.

4.      Demand patterns are also shifting: LFP batteries and non-nickel chemistries are reducing reliance on traditional nickel-intensive steels, with NMC battery demand falling 19% YoY.

5.      Meanwhile, China is rapidly approaching breakthroughs in aerospace-grade high-temperature alloys, eroding one of the few remaining European technological strongholds.



🔹 Recycling: Europe's Strategic Pivot Point?

In a fragmented landscape, recycling is emerging as Europe's final line of defense.

1.      According to INSG, global stainless production consumed roughly 1 million tons of nickel scrap in 2023, with China increasing domestic scrap utilization by 15% YoY.

2.      Electric vehicle growth (22% global penetration in 2024) is pushing synergy between battery recycling and stainless waste recovery.

3.      China and Indonesia are advancing a model that combines “green metallurgy parks + recycling tech” to define the next generation of low-carbon manufacturing.

Markus Moll highlights that Europe's survival hinges on scaling up high-value, specialized products like heat exchangers, and aligning recycling infrastructure with supportive policy frameworks.



🔹 DONG-YU Insights: From “European Rules” to “Asian Efficiency”

This transformation is not merely about shifting production, it is about reshaping the very logic of industrial competitiveness:

1.      Asia is no longer just a manufacturing base, but an integrated force combining resource control, cost mastery, and process innovation.

2.      Europe risks becoming a peripheral market unless it reclaims relevance through localization, recycling advancement, and high-value production.

At DONG-YU STAINLESS STEEL ENTERPRISE, we view this transition as an opportunity:

1.      We are investing in agile, globally connected supply networks rooted in Asia.

2.      We are aligning with green metallurgy and closed-loop recycling principles.

3.      We are committed to delivering customized, high-performance stainless solutions to our international partners.

💬 Conclusion: In the Next Decade, Power Will Belong Not to the Largest, but the Most Adaptable

The future winners of the stainless steel industry will not be those with the largest factories, but those with the greatest speed, adaptability, and strategic foresight.

Asia is setting the pace. The question is whether Europe, and the rest of the world can recalibrate in time.

📎 Published by the Global Research Team of DONG-YU STAINLESS STEEL ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. 🌐 https://www.dongyusteelcorp.com.tw/

 
 
 

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