Finally: commercial self-interest. There are a lot of factors affecting future Nickel demand. The only things that you can rely on are uncertainty; price volatility; and supply interruptions. If you are in the stainless steel supply chain, protect yourself by selecting the lowest Nickel stainless steel that will work in your application. Then put a ‘maximum Primary Nickel’ clause in your Purchase Order and use that to limit the Nickel Alloy Surcharge that you might be hit with when the future. If your business is in forming stainless steels, read the ‘forming ferritics’ section of [5].
References
[5] ‘’The Ferritic Solution: Properties / Advantages / Applications’’ pub April 2007, International Stainless Steel Forum (now World Stainless Association).
