Stainless Steel Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Grade (300 Series, Duplex Series), By Product (Flat, Long), By Application (Building & Construction, Consumer Goods), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

Stainless Steel Market Summary

Stainless steel is an important material in industrial applications, such as building & construction, infrastructure, railways, automotive & transportation, and process industries. Stainless steel has a unique edge over carbon steel as it has a combination of properties, such as pliability, strength, corrosion resistance, aesthetic properties, low maintenance cost, and average product life cycle.

These properties along with increasing penetration in numerous applications is anticipated to drive market growth. The U.S. market growth is expected to be driven by demand in mechanical, chemical, and energy applications. These applications are diverse in range and include the oil industry’s tubulars, heat exchangers, heat vessels, boiler used in power plants, furnace plants, and components used in processing machineries of pulp & paper, chemical and food & beverage industries. Building & construction is one of the important product applications. The segment accounted for a volume share of 11.3% in overall U.S. stainless steel market demand.

For structural purpose, SS products are used in beams, columns, and general architectural applications. It is used in railings, roofing, lifts, staircases, swimming pool shades, canopies, and atriums among others. In November, the Biden government introduced USD 2 trillion plan for infrastructure. It includes heavy fund allocation for repair and renovation of bridges, highways, EV charging facilities, airports, water infrastructure, communication networks, high-speed internets, clean energy & environment, and carbon reduction. This plan is likely to assist the SS demand for structural applications in infrastructure and construction.

Stainless steel market prices are highly influenced by factors such as shipping & labor costs, currency fluctuations, elasticity of demand & supply, and trade-related tariffs. Since 2023, various geopolitical conflicts in Eastern Europe, Western Asia and Horn of Africa have strained routes of shipping, thereby increasing freight costs, which in turn have added to soaring stainless steel prices. 

Market Concentration & Characteristics

Market growth is driven by rising investments in the real estate sector, especially for the non-residential segment. This leads end-users to spend increasingly on pipes & fittings, HVAC system, cookware’s, plates, other products, such as staircase to enhance aesthetic appeal of their homes.

With growing demand patterns, companies such as Jindal Steel and Daido Steel are increasing their production capacities. Moreover, the industry is largely characterized by dominance of regional players, leading within their respective regional markets.

Governments of different countries across the world are providing subsidies to consumers to renovate or construct new houses. For instance, in November 2020, government of Italy introduced a policy, Superbonus. According to this policy, the Italy’s federal government is paying 110% of the building cost to make existing residences eco-friendly. The initiative has a maximum cap of approximately USD 110.41 thousand (EUR 100 thousand) per home and the entire project cost the government approximately USD 9.94 billion (EUR 9 billion) in 2021.

In addition, stainless steel manufacturers are largely supported by their local governments in the form of subsidies, specialized policies for clearances, and other economic incentives, as steel manufacturing acts as a strategic tool for nation building. For example, in July 2023, Govt. of India’s Union Ministry of Steel has announced a new stainless steel policy with an aim to increase the country's domestic capacity to 30 million tons per year from the current levels of 6.6 million tons.

Market Dynamics

Market growth is driven by rising investments in the real estate sector, especially for the non-residential segment. This leads end-users to spend increasingly on pipes & fittings, HVAC system, cookware’s, plates, other products, such as staircase to enhance aesthetic appeal of their homes. Governments of different countries across the world are providing subsidies to consumers to renovate or construct new houses. For instance, in November 2020, government of Italy introduced a policy, Superbonus. According to this policy, the government of the country is paying 110% of the building cost to make existing residences eco-friendly. The initiative has a maximum cap of approximately USD 110.41 thousand (EUR 100 thousand) per home and the entire project costed the government approximately USD 9.94 billion (EUR 9 billion) in 2021.

Grade Insights

The 300 series segment held the largest share of over 59.0% in 2023. Grade 303 in the series is used almost entirely for every part requiring polishing, grinding, and machining where good corrosion resistance is also compulsory. Its non-galling and non-seizing properties make it ideal for moving parts. Being an austenitic steel, it is very useful where low magnetic permeability is preferred. It has fairly good forming properties used for aircraft parts, as well as gears, valve trim, shafts, valves, and all types of screw machine products. It is also required for architectural purposes. Grade 304 in 300 series is specifically suited for all kinds of dairy equipment including containers, sterilizers, milking machines, homogenizers, and storage & hauling tanks, including railroad cars, milk trucks, valves, and piping.

This 18-8 alloy is similarly operative in the brewing business where it is used in storage & railway cars, fermentation vats, yeast pans, and pipelines. Duplex stainless steel market segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR of 8.5% from 2024 to 2030, in terms of stainless steel market value. Superior product properties, such as high strength, low weight, and high corrosion resistance, particularly stress corrosion cracking, is anticipated to drive product demand over forecast period. The product finds applications in the pharma, oil & gas, water desalination, and chemical & petrochemical industries.

Product Insights

Flat products accounted for a revenue share of more than 73% in 2023 and is likely to dominate the market over the forecast period. Flat products mainly include sheets/coil and plates. SS flat products are widely used in mechanical parts and industrial tools along with construction and structural applications. These products are hot-rolled and cold-rolled and have properties, such as corrosion resistance, high strength, and great thickness. Demand for SS products is likely to be driven by growth of the automotive and transportation industries. Railways is one of the important applications, wherein corten steel is being replaced by SS for coaches.

This was mainly due to energy absorption capacity and high strength-to-weight ratio to improve crash effectiveness of coach. Long products are widely used in industries, such as textile, automotive, defense, shipbuilding, cement, fabrication, paper & pulp, and earth-moving machinery. Rounds bar is an important product in this category and can easily be machined and bent as per requirement. These products are used in grills, fasteners, and machining applications along with the production of parts for automotive and machinery & equipment.

Application Insights

The consumer goods segment dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of over 37% in 2023. The segment is projected to grow owing to increasing demand for washing machine & fridge parts, sinks, utensils, and many more. Characteristics, such as easy fabrication, corrosion resistance, and aesthetic appeal, are likely to contribute to the demand for consumer goods; thus, positively influencing market growth. Building & construction (B&C) segment witnessed a sizable impact in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors, such as global financial crunch, supply disruptions, and global demand have affected market dynamics in the B&C sector in recent times.

For instance, as per data released EUROCONSTRUCT, construction output in European countries witnessed a decline of 5.1% in 2020 from the previous year. The automotive & transportation segment also observed a significant decline in 2020, in terms of automotive production and sales. For instance, global automobile production declined by 16% in 2020 as per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA). Since 2023, the sector has been gaining momentum and recovering from  semiconductor shortages & consequent lag in production, with demand arising from passenger vehicle sales. Automotive stainless steel tubes, forged components, gaskets and other structural parts are expected to generate demand in the observable future.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific dominated the market and held a revenue share of over 68.0% in 2023 owing to rapidly expanding defense, machinery, automotive, and shipbuilding industries in countries, such as India, China, South Korea, and Japan. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in energy and infrastructure is likely to provide opportunities for market vendors. An increasing share of India and ASEAN countries in the demand for SS is likely to contribute to the expansion of Asia Pacific stainless steel market. Per capita consumption in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia is gradually increasing, which is likely to remain a key contributing factor for market growth.Traditionally, China stainless steel market was driven by high demand in infrastructure applications, increasing usage in the production of automotive components, electronics and consumer products.

In addition, the expansion of cold-rolled facilities is also expected to remain a vital factor for growth of the market. In terms of revenue, Europe is likely to grow at a CAGR of over 6.0% from 2024 to 2030. Since the commencement of operations in 2021 post-pandemic, market in Europe witnessed recovery. For instance, as per the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), SS melt shop production increased by around 11% on a y-o-y basis, through first quarter of 2021. Increasing application in pre-engineered buildings is likely to drive market growth over coming years.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Key companies are adopting several organic and inorganic growth strategies, such as capacity expansion, mergers & acquisitions, and joint ventures, to maintain and expand their market share. For instance, in February 2021, the company announced a capex plan for its Odisha SS plant worth INR. 2000-3000 crore (~ USD 261.8-392.7 million) over the next few years.

• In July 2023, Jindal Stainless (JSL) has acquired 74% stake in Jindal United Steel Limited (JUSL), with JUSL becoming a 100% owned subsidiary of JSL. The company earlier owned 26% equity in JUSL, which has a 1.6 million ton per year hot strip mill capacity and a cold rolling capacity of 0.2 million tons per year.

• In April 2023, Jindal Stainless has completed the capacity expansion of its Jajpur plant. Nameplate capacity has increased to 2.1 million tons per year from 1.1 million tons per year

Stainless Steel Market Report Scope

Global Stainless Steel Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global stainless steel market report based on grade, product, application, and region:

• Grade Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • 200 Series

  • 300 Series

  • 400 Series

  • Duplex Series

  • Others

• Product Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Flat

  • Long

• Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Building & Construction

  • Automotive & Transportation

  • Consumer Goods

  • Mechanical Engineering & Heavy Industries

  • Electronic Appliances

  • Food Manufacturing

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

• North America

  • U.S.

  • Canada

  • Mexico

• Europe

  • Germany

  • France

  • UK

  • Russia

  • Italy

  • Spain

  • Turkey

• Asia Pacific

  • China

  • Japan

  • South Korea

  • India

  • Indonesia

• Central & South America

  • Brazil

• Middle East & Africa

  • GCC