Producers of hot-rolled (HR) stainless flat steel in Europe have sufficient spare capacity to service the EU market, "with domestic deliveries having lost out to massive rises in import levels, despite the EU safeguard measures," European steel association Eurofer told Fastmarkets on Friday July 26.
EU producers of stainless HR sheets and strips had average capacity utilization of 69-73% in the years 2015-17. This meant that they have a combined spare capacity for about 1.4 million tonnes per year."It is therefore possible for EU stainless steel users to rely on EU material rather than resorting to imports," Eurofer said.Earlier this month, Italian steel re-roller Marcegaglia warned that limiting the imports of HR black stainless steel coil into...