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The sales of different types of steel in the first half of the year were like a world of extremes
2025-08-22
In the first half of the year, sales of different types of steel were either "cold" or "hot". There were mainly three types of steel varieties that sold well in the first half of the year. The first category includes medium and high-end industrial plates, especially those used in automobiles, home appliances, electrical steel, high-strength steel, etc. The reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is primarily due to the support from the manufacturing industry. In the first half of the year, the production and sales of automobiles, especially new energy vehicles, maintained a relatively fast growth rate. The export and domestic sales of home appliances have been relatively stable under the stimulus of policies such as trade-in. The shipbuilding industry has a full order book and is busy with production. The manufacturing industry of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaic power has continued to grow. These factors have provided strong support for the demand of sheet materials. Secondly, it is driven by the upgrading of product demands. The demand for high-performance steel plates with high strength, lightweight and corrosion resistance in downstream industries is increasing, and the profits of high-end products are relatively good. The last factor is export-driven growth. In the first half of the year, thanks to the price advantage of some of our country's sheet products in the international market, the export volume remained at a high level. The second type is some seamless Steel Pipes, such as oil and gas development pipes (oil well pipes, pipeline pipes) and boiler pipes (mainly used in the fields of thermal power and chemical engineering). The main reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is that under the energy security strategy, investment in oil and gas exploration and development has maintained growth. Some thermal power projects have been approved for construction. The chemical industry has specific demands. The demand for steel in these fields is a rigid demand. The third type is steel for Steel Structures, such as H-beams, etc. The reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is the increased proportion of steel structure application in the construction fields of Bridges, stadiums and industrial plants. Meanwhile, the promotion of green buildings has a positive impact on steel structure residences, driving up the demand for steel used in steel structures. There were mainly three types of steel varieties that were relatively unpopular in the first half of the year. The first type is construction steel, such as rebar and wire rods. There are four reasons why this type of steel is relatively unpopular: Firstly, the real estate market remains sluggish, with the area of new housing starts dropping significantly year-on-year, which has become the biggest drag on construction steel. Secondly, the availability of funds for infrastructure projects is uneven. Some projects (especially local ones) are constrained by financial issues, and both the actual construction intensity and steel demand fall short of expectations. Secondly, the competition among construction steel products is highly homogeneous, and low-price competition occurs from time to time, which has affected the profits of construction steel producers. Finally, steel inventories are under pressure. In the first half of the year, the decline rate of social inventory of construction steel gradually slowed down, and the social inventory of construction steel in some regional markets was relatively high. The second type is ordinary medium and heavy plates. Although the shipbuilding industry and the steel structure industry can provide some support for this type of steel, due to the relatively weak demand in the construction machinery sector and the fact that the supply of medium and heavy plates of ordinary specifications is significantly greater than the demand, the price is under pressure. The third type is ordinary welded pipe. This type of steel is mainly used for construction scaffolding, structural components, etc. Therefore, it is greatly influenced by the real estate and infrastructure industries. Coupled with excessive supply, it leads to fierce market competition.
There were mainly three types of steel varieties that sold well in the first half of the year.
The first category includes medium and high-end industrial plates, especially those used in automobiles, home appliances, electrical steel, high-strength steel, etc. The reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is primarily due to the support from the manufacturing industry. In the first half of the year, the production and sales of automobiles, especially new energy vehicles, maintained a relatively fast growth rate. The export and domestic sales of home appliances have been relatively stable under the stimulus of policies such as trade-in. The shipbuilding industry has a full order book and is busy with production. The manufacturing industry of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaic power has continued to grow. These factors have provided strong support for the demand of sheet materials. Secondly, it is driven by the upgrading of product demands. The demand for high-performance steel plates with high strength, lightweight and corrosion resistance in downstream industries is increasing, and the profits of high-end products are relatively good. The last factor is export-driven growth. In the first half of the year, thanks to the price advantage of some of our country's sheet products in the international market, the export volume remained at a high level.
The second type is some seamless Steel Pipes, such as oil and gas development pipes (oil well pipes, pipeline pipes) and boiler pipes (mainly used in the fields of thermal power and chemical engineering). The main reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is that under the energy security strategy, investment in oil and gas exploration and development has maintained growth. Some thermal power projects have been approved for construction. The chemical industry has specific demands. The demand for steel in these fields is a rigid demand.
The third type is steel for Steel Structures, such as H-beams, etc. The reason for the hot sales of this type of steel is the increased proportion of steel structure application in the construction fields of Bridges, stadiums and industrial plants. Meanwhile, the promotion of green buildings has a positive impact on steel structure residences, driving up the demand for steel used in steel structures.
There were mainly three types of steel varieties that were relatively unpopular in the first half of the year.
The first type is construction steel, such as rebar and wire rods. There are four reasons why this type of steel is relatively unpopular: Firstly, the real estate market remains sluggish, with the area of new housing starts dropping significantly year-on-year, which has become the biggest drag on construction steel. Secondly, the availability of funds for infrastructure projects is uneven. Some projects (especially local ones) are constrained by financial issues, and both the actual construction intensity and steel demand fall short of expectations. Secondly, the competition among construction steel products is highly homogeneous, and low-price competition occurs from time to time, which has affected the profits of construction steel producers. Finally, steel inventories are under pressure. In the first half of the year, the decline rate of social inventory of construction steel gradually slowed down, and the social inventory of construction steel in some regional markets was relatively high.
The second type is ordinary medium and heavy plates. Although the shipbuilding industry and the steel structure industry can provide some support for this type of steel, due to the relatively weak demand in the construction machinery sector and the fact that the supply of medium and heavy plates of ordinary specifications is significantly greater than the demand, the price is under pressure.
The third type is ordinary welded pipe. This type of steel is mainly used for construction scaffolding, structural components, etc. Therefore, it is greatly influenced by the real estate and infrastructure industries. Coupled with excessive supply, it leads to fierce market competition.
