From 2019 to 2020, the value of stainless steel exports increased by 45.6%.
The 5 biggest exporters (Indonesia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria, Italy) accounted for over four-fifths (81.4%) of exported stainless steel in 2020.
Among continents, exporters in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exported stainless steel during 2020 with shipments valued at $1.7 billion or approaching two-thirds (63.2%) of world exports for that commodity group. In second place were European exporters via a 33% share.
Tinier percentages came from providers in North America (3.5%), Oceania (0.3%) mostly Australia, 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 2020.
- Indonesia: US$1.6 billion (59.2% of exported stainless steel)
- United Kingdom: $326 million (11.8%)
- Sweden: $143.4 million (5.2%)
- Austria: $72.4 million (2.6%)
- Italy: $70.2 million (2.5%)
- United States: $70 million (2.5%)
- Spain: $61.6 million (2.2%)
- Germany: $51.9 million (1.9%)
- France: $50.6 million (1.8%)
- Belgium: $46.4 million (1.7%)
- Taiwan: $36.9 million (1.3%)
- Canada: $26.8 million (1%)
- Malaysia: $24.5 million (0.9%)
- Netherlands: $17.9 million (0.7%)
- India: $14.6 million (0.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96% of globally exported stainless in 2020.
Among the top exporters, 3 countries grew their stainless steel sales from 2019 to 2020. This trio of gainers were Indonesia (up 296.5%), Canada (up 84%) and Belgium (up 60.2%).
Those countries that posted declines in their international sales of exported stainless steel were led by: Sweden (down -32%), Malaysia (down -31.7%), Spain (down -30.1%), Italy (down -29.5%) and United States (down -29.1%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for stainless steel during 2020. 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: $1.6 billion (up 339.6% from 2019)
- United Kingdom: $297.7 million (down -24.2%)
- Austria: $26.6 million (up 4%)
- Spain: $22.6 million (down -4.5%)
- Malaysia: $22.3 million (down -16.8%)
- Canada: $12.2 million (down -677.2%)
- Australia: $4.6 million (down -22.5%)
- Slovenia: $3.8 million (down -25.3%)
- Norway: $3.7 million (down -27.1%)
- Denmark: $2.7 million (down -60.4%)
- Japan: $2.6 million (reversing a -$709,000 deficit)
- Azerbaijan: $1.5 million (down -28.9%)
- Zambia: $1.13 million (up 1,012%)
- Belarus: $1.07 million (reversing a -$196,000 deficit)
- Croatia: $573,000 (up 144.9%)
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 2020. 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-$1.3 billion (net export deficit up 399.2% since 2019)
- Taiwan: -$147.3 million (up 214.2%)
- United States: -$90 million (down -28%)
- France: -$76.9 million (down -4%)
- Italy: -$65.7 million (up 1.6%)
- Sweden: -$58.7 million (down -39.4%)
- Portugal: -$27.1 million (down -5.9%)
- South Korea: -$27 million (up 66.4%)
- Belgium: -$25.8 million (up 14.8%)
- Turkey: -$24.5 million (up 104.8%)
- Germany: -$24.2 million (up 24.5%)
- Ukraine: -$18.9 million (up 10.1%)
- India: -$15.4 million (down -52%)
- Russia: -$9.3 million (up 37.4%)
- Switzerland: -$8.7 million (down -0.5%)
The People’s Republic of China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of stainless steel. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights China’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for stainless steel-supplying countries to help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Stainless Steel Exporting Companies
Below are global stainless steel-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of stainless steel. Each home country is shown within parenthesis.
- Acerinox, SA (Spain)
- British Steel Limited (United Kingdom)
- China Steel (Taiwan)
- Gruppo Riva (Italy)
- Nucor Corporation (United States)
- SSAB AB (Sweden)
- Tata Steel Limited (India)
- ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany)
- Vallourec (France)
- Voestalpine (Austria)
Searchable List of Stainless Steel Exporting Countries in 2020
As listed below, the 75 suppliers of stainless steel to international markets generated 100% of worldwide sales in 2020.
| Rank | Exporter | Stainless Steel Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $1,630,912,000 | +296.5% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | $326,003,000 | -26.9% |
| 3. | Sweden | $143,361,000 | -32% |
| 4. | Austria | $72,390,000 | -20.8% |
| 5. | Italy | $70,212,000 | -29.5% |
| 6. | United States | $69,979,000 | -29.1% |
| 7. | Spain | $61,631,000 | -30.1% |
| 8. | Germany | $51,925,000 | -25.9% |
| 9. | France | $50,642,000 | -22.3% |
| 10. | Belgium | $46,400,000 | +60.2% |
| 11. | Taiwan | $36,891,000 | -16.7% |
| 12. | Canada | $26,819,000 | +84% |
| 13. | Malaysia | $24,473,000 | -31.7% |
| 14. | Netherlands | $17,941,000 | -26.6% |
| 15. | India | $14,564,000 | -18.8% |
| 16. | Vietnam | $13,410,000 | +105.6% |
| 17. | Denmark | $10,844,000 | -11.6% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $10,615,000 | +6.4% |
| 19. | Japan | $6,935,000 | -4.4% |
| 20. | Norway | $6,502,000 | -33.6% |
| 21. | Portugal | $6,187,000 | -20.1% |
| 22. | Poland | $5,485,000 | -7.3% |
| 23. | Slovenia | $5,365,000 | -20.4% |
| 24. | Slovakia | $4,941,000 | -40.6% |
| 25. | Australia | $4,888,000 | -19.6% |
| 26. | Hungary | $4,218,000 | +1.5% |
| 27. | Singapore | $3,472,000 | -47.5% |
| 28. | Finland | $2,892,000 | -84.9% |
| 29. | South Korea | $2,852,000 | -28.2% |
| 30. | Ukraine | $2,597,000 | -36.2% |
| 31. | United Arab Emirates | $1,897,000 | -16.4% |
| 32. | Switzerland | $1,682,000 | -34.8% |
| 33. | Azerbaijan | $1,592,000 | -29.8% |
| 34. | Belarus | $1,256,000 | +766.2% |
| 35. | China | $1,248,000 | +53.1% |
| 36. | Ireland | $1,229,000 | -43.7% |
| 37. | Zambia | $1,157,000 | +515.4% |
| 38. | Turkey | $951,000 | +21.9% |
| 39. | Russia | $906,000 | -2.5% |
| 40. | Latvia | $872,000 | +81.3% |
| 41. | Croatia | $862,000 | +15.2% |
| 42. | Brazil | $767,000 | +73.9% |
| 43. | Serbia | $763,000 | +46.4% |
| 44. | South Africa | $609,000 | -56% |
| 45. | Thailand | $590,000 | +2.3% |
| 46. | Mexico | $502,000 | +578.4% |
| 47. | Estonia | $329,000 | +33.2% |
| 48. | Kazakhstan | $324,000 | +129.8% |
| 49. | Nigeria | $241,000 | +29.6% |
| 50. | Jordan | $192,000 | +1,820% |
| 51. | Hong Kong | $121,000 | -16.6% |
| 52. | Philippines | $85,000 | +13.3% |
| 53. | Bulgaria | $58,000 | -88.3% |
| 54. | Romania | $57,000 | -66.1% |
| 55. | Pakistan | $54,000 | 0% |
| 56. | Uruguay | $42,000 | +1,300% |
| 57. | Uzbekistan | $40,000 | 0% |
| 58. | Bahrain | $39,000 | 0% |
| 59. | Guatemala | $37,000 | +311.1% |
| 60. | Chile | $36,000 | 0% |
| 61. | New Zealand | $32,000 | +113.3% |
| 62. | Tunisia | $27,000 | -99% |
| 63. | Aruba | $20,000 | -82.1% |
| 64. | Egypt | $20,000 | 0% |
| 65. | Saudi Arabia | $19,000 | -88.3% |
| 66. | Lithuania | $18,000 | -96.4% |
| 67. | Rwanda | $13,000 | 0% |
| 68. | Kenya | $8,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Luxembourg | $5,000 | -58.3% |
| 70. | Oman | $5,000 | +25% |
| 71. | Iran | $3,000 | -75% |
| 72. | Colombia | $3,000 | +200% |
| 73. | Sri Lanka | $1,000 | -97.4% |
| 74. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $1,000 | 0% |
| 75. | Moldova | $1,000 | 0% |
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 2019 data was unavailable.
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 June 15, 2021
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 15, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Wikipedia, List of steel producers. Accessed on June 15, 2021
