Overall, the value of exported stainless steel expanded by an average 37% for all exporting countries since 2015 when stainless steel shipments were worth $1.4 billion. Year over year, the value of exported stainless steel declined -28% from 2018 to 2019.
Among continents, Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported stainless steel during 2019 with shipments valued at $1.2 billion or approaching two-thirds (64.2%) of world exports for this commodity. In second place were Asian exporters via a 29.3% share followed by providers in North America at 6%. Smaller percentages came from stainless steel suppliers in Oceania (0.3%) mostly Australia, then Africa (0.1%) and Latin America (0.03%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 7218 for stainless steel in primary forms including ingots.
Stainless Steel Exporters by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of stainless steel during 2019.
- United Kingdom: US$445.5 million (23.4% of stainless steel exports)
- Indonesia: $430.9 million (22.6%)
- Sweden: $210.8 million (11.1%)
- Italy: $100.9 million (5.3%)
- United States: $98.7 million (5.2%)
- Austria: $93 million (4.9%)
- Spain: $89.6 million (4.7%)
- Germany: $70 million (3.7%)
- France: $65.2 million (3.4%)
- Taiwan: $44.3 million (2.3%)
- Malaysia: $35.9 million (1.9%)
- Belgium: $29.7 million (1.6%)
- Netherlands: $21 million (1.1%)
- Finland: $19.1 million (1%)
- India: $17.4 million (0.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.1% of globally exported stainless in 2019.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of stainless steel since 2015 were: Indonesia (up 52,970%), Finland (up 802.8%), India (up 178.4%) and Malaysia (up 153.3%).
Three countries posted declines in international sales of stainless steel: United States (down -34.6%), Belgium (down -33.6%) and Italy (down -18.1%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for stainless steel during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported stainless steel and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: US$427.1 million (net export surplus reversing a -$40.5 million deficit in 2015)
- United Kingdom: $392.8 million (down -1.5% from 2015)
- Malaysia: $26.8 million (up 283.2%)
- Austria: $25.9 million (up 214.5%)
- Spain: $24.1 million (up 45.2%)
- Finland: $14.4 million (up 1321.5%)
- Denmark: $6.8 million (up 78.3%)
- Australia: $5.9 million (up 9.7%)
- Norway: $5.1 million (up 61.4%)
- Slovenia: $4.9 million (up 66.7%)
- Azerbaijan: $2.2 million (up 509.9%)
- Hungary: $1.8 million (up 182.4%)
- Belarus: $1.4 million (reversing a -$605,000 deficit)
- South Africa: $1.3 million (up 30%)
- Serbia: $434,000 (reversing a -$54,000 deficit)
Indonesia earned the highest surplus in the international trade of stainless steel. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Indonesia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for stainless steel during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported stainless steel purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$263.1 million (net export deficit up 427.7% since 2015)
- United States: -$125.1 million (up 17.7%)
- Sweden: -$96.8 million (up 87.9%)
- France: -$80.1 million (up 45.7%)
- Italy: -$65.4 million (reversing a $57.1 million surplus)
- Taiwan: -$46.9 million (reversing a $774,000 surplus)
- Portugal: -$33.8 million (up 3.7%)
- India: -$31.5 million (reversing a $3 million surplus)
- Belgium: -$23.1 million (reversing a $12 million surplus)
- Germany: -$19 million (down -62.3%)
- South Korea: -$16.2 million (up 62.8%)
- Poland: -$12.7 million (up 12.2%)
- Czech Republic: -$12.1 million (down -18.7%)
- Singapore: -$11.7 million (up 159.3%)
- Turkey: -$11.7 million (reversing a $238,000 surplus)
The People’s Republic of China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of stainless steel. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights China’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for stainless steel-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Stainless Steel Exporting Companies
Below are global stainless steel-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of stainless steel. Each home country is shown within parenthesis.
- Acerinox, SA (Spain)
- British Steel Limited (United Kingdom)
- China Steel (Taiwan)
- Gruppo Riva (Italy)
- Nucor Corporation (United States)
- SSAB AB (Sweden)
- Tata Steel Limited (India)
- ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany)
- Vallourec (France)
- Voestalpine (Austria)
Searchable List of Stainless Steel Exporting Countries in 2019
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2018 data was unavailable.
| Rank | Exporter | Stainless Steel Exports (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United Kingdom | $445,454,000 | -30.6% |
| 2. | Indonesia | $430,926,000 | -47.5% |
| 3. | Sweden | $210,764,000 | -7.3% |
| 4. | Italy | $100,855,000 | -1.5% |
| 5. | United States | $98,679,000 | -12.6% |
| 6. | Austria | $92,960,000 | +24.2% |
| 7. | Spain | $89,624,000 | +1.1% |
| 8. | Germany | $69,975,000 | -5% |
| 9. | France | $65,191,000 | +1.5% |
| 10. | Taiwan | $44,262,000 | -20% |
| 11. | Malaysia | $35,853,000 | -20.1% |
| 12. | Belgium | $29,736,000 | -33.9% |
| 13. | Netherlands | $21,001,000 | -13.1% |
| 14. | Finland | $19,121,000 | +70.4% |
| 15. | India | $17,369,000 | -32.4% |
| 16. | Canada | $14,576,000 | -53% |
| 17. | Denmark | $12,218,000 | -11.1% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $9,979,000 | +13.9% |
| 19. | Norway | $9,794,000 | -15.4% |
| 20. | Slovakia | $8,526,000 | -81.9% |
| 21. | Japan | $7,256,000 | +0.3% |
| 22. | Slovenia | $7,122,000 | +21.2% |
| 23. | Vietnam | $6,672,000 | -8% |
| 24. | Singapore | $6,608,000 | -12% |
| 25. | Australia | $6,082,000 | +64.8% |
| 26. | Poland | $5,915,000 | -26.9% |
| 27. | Portugal | $5,319,000 | +89.4% |
| 28. | Ukraine | $4,622,000 | +241.4% |
| 29. | South Korea | $3,971,000 | -89.9% |
| 30. | Hungary | $3,715,000 | -22.1% |
| 31. | Switzerland | $2,579,000 | -41.1% |
| 32. | Azerbaijan | $2,268,000 | +10.3% |
| 33. | Ireland | $2,182,000 | +30% |
| 34. | Belarus | $1,683,000 | +16,730% |
| 35. | South Africa | $1,385,000 | +82.2% |
| 36. | Russia | $929,000 | -24% |
| 37. | China | $815,000 | +232.7% |
| 38. | Croatia | $795,000 | -28.9% |
| 39. | Thailand | $577,000 | -48.2% |
| 40. | Serbia | $521,000 | +54.6% |
| 41. | Bulgaria | $504,000 | +972.3% |
| 42. | Latvia | $483,000 | +42.9% |
| 43. | Turkey | $456,000 | +19.7% |
| 44. | United Arab Emirates | $445,000 | -75.3% |
| 45. | Brazil | $441,000 | +10.8% |
| 46. | Lithuania | $439,000 | +2,644% |
| 47. | Estonia | $275,000 | -40.7% |
| 48. | Zambia | $188,000 | +123.8% |
| 49. | Nigeria | $186,000 | +365% |
| 50. | Romania | $170,000 | +13.3% |
| 51. | Saudi Arabia | $162,000 | -98.2% |
| 52. | Hong Kong | $145,000 | -13.2% |
| 53. | Kazakhstan | $141,000 | -58.7% |
| 54. | Qatar | $132,000 | -31.6% |
| 55. | Aruba | $112,000 | 0% |
| 56. | Tunisia | $82,000 | +241.7% |
| 57. | Israel | $80,000 | +166.7% |
| 58. | Philippines | $75,000 | -70.9% |
| 59. | Mexico | $59,000 | +18% |
| 60. | Egypt | $58,000 | 0% |
| 61. | Maldives | $39,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Pakistan | $38,000 | +1,800% |
| 63. | Sri Lanka | $37,000 | +825% |
| 64. | Uzbekistan | $29,000 | -63.3% |
| 65. | Tanzania | $28,000 | +47.4% |
| 66. | New Zealand | $15,000 | -51.6% |
| 67. | Jordan | $15,000 | -6.3% |
| 68. | Luxembourg | $12,000 | -93.2% |
| 69. | Guatemala | $9,000 | -35.7% |
| 70. | Peru | $3,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Uruguay | $3,000 | 0% |
| 72. | US Minor Outlying Is | $2,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Panama | $2,000 | 0% |
| 74. | Barbados | $2,000 | 0% |
| 75. | Costa Rica | $1,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Iceland | $1,000 | -94.1% |
See also Top Cork Exporting Countries, Plastic Item Exports by Country and Top Aluminum Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 15, 2020
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 15, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 15, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 15, 2020
Wikipedia, List of steel producers. Accessed on May 15, 2020
