Stainless Steel Industry Latest News

Turkey's Annual Production of 800,000 Stainless Steel Project Officially Launched

According to reports on May 28, Sarıtaş Çelik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, a well-known steel manufacturer in Turkey, recently announced that it has officially launched a comprehensive stainless steel production facility construction project in the Yalova Mechanical Specialized Industrial Zone. The project aims to significantly enhance Turkey's stainless steel export capacity and effectively reduce its dependence on imported products.

It is reported that the construction of the project will be promoted in four phases and is scheduled to be fully put into production in 2030. After the project is fully completed, it is expected to form an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons and create about 1,200 jobs. The first and second phases of the project will be put into production in 2027, and will focus on the construction of cold rolling production lines, which will contribute an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons after production; the third phase of the project will be put into production in 2028, and a hot rolling workshop will be built; the fourth phase of the project will be put into production in 2030, and supporting smelting facilities will be built.

After the fourth phase of the project is completed, the plant will realize the full process integrated production from crude steel smelting to finished product processing. The project will use energy-saving equipment, automated production process systems, digital product traceability solutions and waste recycling infrastructure, which will not only help improve production efficiency and product quality, but also meet Turkey's green development goals.

Industry analysts believe that this major investment is a key strategic move for Turkey to promote industrial autonomy, marking a milestone in its move towards a higher degree of self-sufficiency in the stainless steel industry.

From an industry perspective, the implementation of this project will change the situation in which Turkey's stainless steel industry has long relied on imports and enhance the competitiveness of local companies. Compared with neighboring countries, if Turkey can achieve large-scale independent production of stainless steel, it will occupy a more advantageous position in regional trade.

US Raises Steel and Aluminum Tariffs to 50%

On May 30, US President Trump said that he would increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, and the decision would take effect in early June. This move has sparked opposition from many parties:

(1) Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Brusque said this was "another direct attack on Canada."

(2) Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said that raising tariffs on imported steel was "unreasonable" and "not what an ally should do."

(3) In a statement, the European Commission expressed regret over the US announcement of raising tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and said the EU was ready to take countermeasures.

(4) South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it would respond to the US's 50% tariff on steel products as part of ongoing discussions with the US.

(5) German Steel Federation Chairman Ripert issued a written statement on June 1 local time, saying that the US move has once again escalated the transatlantic trade conflict and will put tremendous pressure on the European steel industry.

◎ On May 30, US President Trump said that US automakers, including Tesla, must produce complete vehicles and all parts in the United States, rather than abroad. Trump said that automakers previously produced parts in Canada, Mexico and Europe, which bothered him, but in the next year, these automakers "must produce complete vehicles in the United States."

◎ The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that it would extend the exemption period in the 301 investigation on China's acts, policies and practices in technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The exemption period was originally scheduled to expire on May 31, 2025, and has now been extended to August 31, 2025.

◎ The core PCE price index in the United States increased by 2.5% year-on-year in April, hitting a new low since March 2021, with market expectations of 2.5% and the previous value of 2.6%. The core PCE price index in the United States increased by 0.1% month-on-month in April, with an estimated increase of 0.1% and a previous value of 0%.

◎ In April, the value of U.S. commodity imports fell from US$344.47 billion in March to US$276.097 billion, a decrease of 19.8%. The initial value of the commodity trade deficit narrowed from US$162.3 billion in March to US$87.6 billion.

China's First Stainless Steel Rocket was Successfully Recovered

In the early morning of May 29, China's first "liquid oxygen and methane + stainless steel + soft landing recovery at sea" rocket "Yuan Xingzhe No. 1" verification rocket successfully completed its first sea flight recovery test at Haiyang Oriental Spaceport.

The "Yuan Xingzhe No. 1" verification rocket is a full-size thin-walled stainless steel rocket with a diameter of 4.2 meters, a total height of about 26.8 meters, a takeoff mass of about 57 tons, a test flight time of 125 seconds, and a flight altitude of about 2.5 kilometers. This flight test successfully completed 8 working stages: ignition takeoff, full thrust climb, variable thrust adjustment, engine shutdown, free descent glide, engine secondary start, deceleration to hover on the sea surface, and soft landing on the sea surface. During the test, the rocket flew normally and splashed down and recovered normally.

It is understood that the verification rocket of this test has achieved China's first "liquid oxygen and methane + stainless steel + soft landing recovery at sea" technology breakthrough, marking that the large-size stainless steel reusable carrier rocket has officially entered the engineering application stage.