304 stainless steel tube manufacturing should be healthy
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July 25 07:28:00, 2025
The manufacturing of 304 stainless steel pipes should be healthy and sustainable. With the rapid economic growth in China, the consumption of stainless steel pipes has been on the rise, and the demand for these products is expanding across various industries, making the market highly promising. However, there are still significant gaps between the current domestic production and the growing market needs in terms of variety, specifications, quantity, and quality.
In terms of product types, Chinese manufacturers still rely heavily on outdated grades such as 1Gr18Ni9Ti, which have been phased out in many other countries. The quality of domestically produced urea-grade and high-precision stainless steel pipes remains inconsistent. Heat exchanger tubes used in power plant boilers and urea pipes for fertilizer plants are largely imported. Additionally, duplex stainless steel pipes, known for their excellent corrosion resistance, are rarely manufactured domestically.
Regarding product specifications, there is a notable gap in large-diameter and ultra-long stainless steel pipes, which are in high demand. On the other hand, the production capacity for small and medium-sized general-purpose stainless steel pipes exceeds actual market demand. In terms of quantity, high-standard industrial welded pipes, especially those required for specialized applications, are still in short supply. While the output of ordinary stainless steel pipes matches overall demand, the production of seamless pipes is overcapacity, particularly for medium and low-grade products. Meanwhile, the decorative welded pipe market faces oversupply.
Over the past decade, the application fields of stainless steel pipes have expanded rapidly, leading to a surge in demand for different materials, specifications, and uses. Given the high value added to stainless steel products, the number of enterprises producing them has grown significantly since the 1980s. From just a dozen companies back then, the industry has now expanded to over 400 firms, with total production and processing capacity exceeding 1 million tons. Actual production increased from 50,000 tons in 1989 to 390,000 tons in 1999. Most companies were small-scale, with only a few producing more than 5,000 tons annually, while the majority operated with annual outputs under 1,000 tons.
The range of steel grades has also evolved, moving from single austenitic to martensitic, ferritic, and duplex steels, as well as high-alloy grades. Product varieties now include seamless tubes, cold-drawn tubes, cold-rolled tubes, hot-extruded tubes, centrifugally cast tubes, spiral pipes, and more. Welded pipes come in various forms, such as plasma welding, argon arc welding, submerged arc welding, high-frequency welding, and others. The range of stainless steel pipes produced in China covers most global specifications, with over 100 types of shaped pipes available for use in both industrial and civil applications.
In developed countries, stainless steel welded pipes account for 65% to 75% of total stainless steel pipe production. However, China's current production capacity for welded pipes does not fully meet domestic demand. It is estimated that the annual demand for stainless steel welded pipes in the Chinese market will reach at least 60,000 tons in the 21st century. This highlights the need for further development and optimization of the industry to match the growing market requirements.