Leading European stainless makers report mediocre Q3, despite import plunge

Spain's Acerinox SA, the major stainless steel and high-performance alloys producer, reported in its third-quarter results presentation that apparent stainless steel demand in Europe in the July-September period fell 22% quarter on quarter and during January-September had declined 11% year on year.

The presentation also showed that while imports of stainless flat products into Europe had decreased 42% on year over the same nine-month period, accounting for 16% of the market, stainless inventories in the region remained 1.4% above the historical average, preventing local producers from fully benefiting from lower imports.

Acerinox said the increase in imports ahead of the new EU trade measures had pushed inventories higher and delayed the expected market recovery in Q3.

The Madrid-based maker said it expects the effects of the EU's CBAM and new trade measures to become more appreciable in early 2027, once inventories return to normal levels.

Similarly, Finland's Outokumpu Oyj, one of Europe's leading stainless steel producers, also reported continued market weakness when tabling its interim report for January-September 2026 recently.

The company's group-wide stainless deliveries fell 7% quarter on quarter to 454,000 tonnes in Q3, amid subdued end-use demand, seasonal factors and elevated customer inventories, it said. CEO Kati ter Horst explained that demand from the household appliance and automotive sectors remained weak, while selected industrial segments, including data centres and energy, recorded stronger demand.

Outokumpu expects stainless steel deliveries to decline by a further 5-15% quarter on quarter in the current October-December quarter.

For its part, Luxembourg-headquartered Aperam SA reported that its group-wide shipments in Q3 fell 10.9% quarter on quarter to 540,000 tonnes in Q3, down from 606,000 tonnes during April-June. The company attributed the decline mainly to the typical seasonal slowdown across key markets. CEO Sud Sivaji also cited weak demand in Europe when commenting on the company's third-quarter performance.

The latest results suggest that lower imports alone have yet to translate into a meaningful recovery in European stainless steel consumption, with weak end-user demand and elevated inventories continuing to weigh on the market.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, Chinese exports of stainless steel products to Europe totaled some 448,672 tonnes during January-September, plunging 18.7% year on year.

Written by Tiffany Hou, houtianhui@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com