Thailand's government has decided to impose a 5-year anti-dumping tax on cold rolled stainless steel from Taiwan, Japan and Korea commencing at the middle of March this year. The government explained that the domestic cold rolled stainless steel market had been seriously affected by steel from the abovementioned three countries, and that local mills were calling for stricter limitations of these steel imports.

ThyssenKrupp Nirosta on short hours until September. ThyssenKrupp Stainless plans to introduce short-time working for its German operations until September. The reduced working schedule has taken effect as of February, and applies to the 4,500 employees of German stainless strip division TK Nirosta. Currently, 2,300 staff are working six fewer shifts per month, though the tonnage lost is not yet known. Nirosta already reduced production by extending its Christmas/New Year break from two to four weeks.

Outokumpu Stainless AB of Sweden has awarded SMS Demag a contract for the modernisation of its Degerfors (Sweden) heavy plate mill. The order comprises the supply of a hot and a cold plate leveler and finishing shop. Also included in SMS Demag's scope of supply is the electrical equipment and automation system for these facilities. Outokumpu is a leading producer of stainless steels and with the modernization project aims to boost its production and to improve the flatness of its plates. The modernization project will be carried out in several stages which will be completed in 2011.

Wolverhampton-based stainless steel company Lockley Stainless and its Cambridge subsidiary CPC Stainless have gone into administration, placing 25 jobs in jeopardy. The Featherstone-based business, one of the UK’s leading suppliers and processors of stainless steel flat products, continues to trade while a buyer is being sought by Deloitte joint administrators Dominic Wong and Richard Hawes. The firm invested heavily in a new service centre last year but encountered cashflow problems following a slump in commodity prices and sales volumes. In April 2008 Lockley opened a purpose-built 50,000 sq ft service centre in Wolverhampton. It is used as a product processing facility to decoil, cut and polish sheet stainless steel, as well as being a warehouse and head office.

The world stainless steel production reached 25.9 million metric tons (mmt) in 2008 according to preliminary figures released today by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF). The total is 6.9% lower than 2007 level. After a decrease of 2 % in 2007, this is the second year in a row that world stainless steel production has decreased. Beyond the normal seasonal factors of our industry, 2007 as well as 2008, turned out to have the same pattern: excellent first half, extremely depressed second half. The external raw materials price volatility and the overall worldwide economic situation added to the turmoil The first half of 2008 turned out as being quite positive. By the third quarter, the financial and economic crisis combined with a massive drop in raw material prices – nickel being no exception – struck massively all cyclical industries. Our industry did not escape, on the contrary. Due to overstocks, reduction of excess inventories bought at inflated prices, complete stop of purchases from distributors and some end users, in a matter of weeks we moved from a bright future to a gloomy environment