By 2031, the global stainless steel plate market size is projected to approach RMB 525.47 billion, with a CAGR of 3.7% over the next six years.

According to data from YH Research, the stainless steel plate industry entered a phase of structural growth in 2025, driven by both policy guidance and market demand. This shift has led to steady improvements in both industry scale and development quality compared to previous periods. Currently, the return of raw material prices to a stable range, the multi-point surge in downstream application demand, and the continued prominence of regional industrial cluster effects are collectively propelling the stainless steel plate industry toward accelerated advancement in high-end, green, and global directions. The overall development exhibits the distinct characteristics of “stable volume and quality improvement.”

Policy Drivers: Fortifying the Foundation for Green Transformation and Technological Upgrades
According to YH Research, the global stainless steel plate market reached approximately RMB 409.15 billion in 2024. It is projected to maintain steady growth, approaching RMB 525.47 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 3.7% over the next six years.

1. Enhanced Green Manufacturing Policies Drive Carbon Reduction and Efficiency Gains
The implementation of the “Steel Industry Carbon Peak Implementation Plan” has accelerated environmental upgrades among stainless steel plate enterprises. In 2024, the average carbon emissions per unit product for key national stainless steel plate enterprises decreased by 3.8% year-on-year, with projections indicating this emissions intensity will further decline to 4.0% by 2025. Concurrently, environmental investments in the sector are rising. Total environmental expenditures are projected to reach RMB 19.5 billion in 2025, with per-unit environmental investment increasing from RMB 18.4/ton in 2024 to RMB 22.7/ton—a substantial 23.37% growth. Green production has become a mandatory requirement for industry development.

2. Technology Innovation Fund Drives High-End Breakthroughs
The expansion of the High-End Manufacturing Special Fund has injected momentum into high-end R&D within the stainless steel plate industry. The fund's scale increased from 1.28 billion yuan in 2024 to 1.45 billion yuan in 2025, with over 40% of the funds specifically allocated to high-end R&D projects for stainless steel plates. With fund support, the industry's R&D intensity increased from 2.1% in 2024 to 2.2%, yielding significant achievements in technology commercialization. Currently, domestically developed corrosion-resistant high-strength stainless steel plates are widely applied in high-end sectors like aerospace and marine engineering. The formal launch of nuclear-grade stainless steel production lines in 2025 will fill the domestic capacity gap in this field.

3. Capacity Optimization Policies Guide Layout Upgrades
The state-driven steel industry layout optimization initiative has guided stainless steel plate capacity toward resource-rich, transportation-convenient regions. In 2024, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces added 3.8 million tons of stainless steel plate capacity, accounting for 52.4% of the national total. Under policy incentives, China's total stainless steel plate capacity is projected to reach 44 million tons by 2025, with capacity utilization rates maintained at an efficient 83.1%—a further improvement over 2024 levels—effectively preventing overcapacity and resource wastage.
Demand Expansion: Multi-sector Growth Drives Market Scale

Structural upgrades in downstream application markets have become the core driver of growth in the stainless steel plate industry, with stable growth in traditional sectors and explosive demand in emerging sectors creating a synergistic effect. Stainless steel plates are special steels characterized by corrosion resistance and rust prevention, containing no less than 10.5% chromium and no more than 1.2% carbon. They can be classified by microstructure into martensitic steel, ferritic steel, and austenitic steel, and by composition into chromium stainless steel, chromium-nickel stainless steel, and chromium-manganese-nitrogen stainless steel. This diverse product range enables adaptation to varied application requirements across different sectors.

1. Steady Growth in Traditional Application Areas
The construction industry remains the largest demand source for stainless steel plates, accounting for 38.7% in 2024. With the promotion of prefabricated construction, the penetration rate of stainless steel structural components is projected to rise from 18% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, further driving demand in the construction sector. Demand from the home appliance sector also continues to expand, reaching 2.146 million tons in 2024—a 5.3% year-on-year increase. Export trade of white goods like refrigerators and washing machines has become a key driver of this growth.

2. Emerging Sectors Emerge as Growth Engines
The rapid development of the new energy sector has opened up new growth opportunities for the stainless steel plate industry. Demand in the new energy vehicle sector is experiencing explosive growth, reaching 980,000 tons in 2024 and projected to increase to 1.15 million tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 17.35%. This surge is primarily driven by the significantly higher per-unit consumption of stainless steel plates in new energy vehicles compared to traditional fuel-powered vehicles. The new energy equipment sector also demonstrates strong performance, with demand for 443 ultra-pure ferritic stainless steel used in photovoltaic mounting systems surging to 4.2 million tons, emerging as a key growth driver within the segment.

3. Product Structure Shifts Toward High-End Applications
The market for stainless steel sheets tailored to high-end manufacturing demands is expanding rapidly. Sales of stainless steel sheets reached 4.63 million tons in 2024, a 7.8% year-on-year increase, and are projected to rise to 4.98 million tons in 2025, accounting for 53.6% of the overall market. Demand for medical-grade 316L sheets is growing in tandem, with applications projected to reach 450,000 tons by 2027. By 2025, the market for ultra-thin precision strips under 0.1mm for semiconductor equipment will hit 8.5 billion yuan, growing at a CAGR of 28%. High-end products are becoming the core driver of industry profit growth.

Regional and Global Markets: Dual-Engine Growth Unlocks Development Potential
Domestic regional market patterns exhibit diversification, while global export markets continue to expand. Combined with the growing influence of regional production clusters, these factors collectively open broader development prospects for the stainless steel plate industry, forming a dual-engine growth model of “domestic optimization and global expansion.”

1. Pronounced Regional Differentiation in Domestic Market
East China remains the core consumption region for stainless steel plates, with consumption exceeding 8.5 million tons in 2024—accounting for 38.7% of national demand. Within this region, the Yangtze River Delta accounts for 63% of cold-rolled plate consumption, significantly above the national average. Leveraging its foreign trade advantages, the South China region consumed approximately 6 million tons in 2024, with 40% flowing to export processing enterprises. Areas like Foshan and Jieyang have developed distinctive stainless steel industrial clusters. Central and Western regions led in growth rate, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2%—2.4 percentage points above the national average—emerging as new growth poles in the domestic market.

2. Export Markets Continue to Expand
China's stainless steel sheet exports have maintained steady growth in recent years. In 2024, exports reached 4.12 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, with export value totaling $7.83 billion, up 9.2% year-on-year. This growth trend is expected to continue in 2025, with projected exports reaching 4.38 million tons (up 6.3% year-on-year) and export value hitting $8.36 billion (up 6.8% year-on-year). Infrastructure development demands along the Belt and Road route have become the primary driver of export growth, opening vast overseas market opportunities for domestic enterprises.

3. Regional Capacity Clusters Demonstrate Significant Effects
The formation of regional capacity clusters has effectively enhanced the scale and specialization of the stainless steel plate industry. Leveraging its port and resource advantages, Ningde, Fujian has established China's largest stainless steel industrial cluster. Its output reached 12.4 million tons in 2024, a 9.3% year-on-year increase, and is projected to rise to 13.2 million tons in 2025, representing a 6.5% year-on-year growth. Currently, China has established a differentiated development pattern where “coastal bases focus on high-end export products while inland industrial parks develop specialized materials for niche sectors,” with cluster effects further strengthening the industry's competitiveness.

In summary, the stainless steel plate industry is undergoing a critical transition toward high-quality development in 2025. Policy support solidifies the industry's green and technological foundations, while expanding demand across multiple downstream sectors provides sustained growth momentum. Regional and global market expansion opens broader development opportunities. Despite challenges such as raw material price volatility and rising environmental costs, the industry will maintain steady progress through high-end, green, and cluster-based transformation. Its position within the global stainless steel supply chain will continue to strengthen.