Outokumpu, the largest stainless steel manufacturer in Europe, reported its stainless steel shipments totaling around 620,000 tons in the first quarter, up by 16.3% compared to the previous quarter, while down by 3.57% from the same period a year ago. The stainless steel market in the second quarter was expected to remain flat as the first quarter, and the stainless steel shipments will be kept stable.

According to Outokumpu, the EU’s safeguard measure have been proven the effectiveness since European imports of the cold-rolled coil have returned to the level before the policy of steel tariffs. However, it still needed some time to recover the overall market in Europe as the current economic uncertainty might bring negative impact on demand.