SteelOrbis Shanghai
As a result of the recovery from the snow disaster which hit the country earlier this year, China's steel production registered a rebound in growth in March, with crude steel output growth reaching 11.5 percent, up 5.1 percentage points compared with the growth registered in the January-February period.
In March, China's crude steel production totaled 44.8684 million mt, up 4.6151 million mt or 11.5 percent year on year. Average daily crude steel production reached 1.4474 million mt, up 148,900 mt year on year. Meanwhile, crude steel production for the January-March period amounted to 124.9363 million mt, up 9.8472 million or 8.6 percent year on year.
China's pig iron production in March totaled 41.5299 million mt, up 3.3514 million mt or 8.8 percent year on year. At the same time, total pig iron production in the first quarter reached 117.8014 million mt, up 8.3259 million mt or 7.6 percent.
China's finished steel production for March totaled 52.3664 million mt, up 5.774 million mt or 12.4 percent year on year. On the other hand, national finished steel production in Q1 reached 140.9361 million mt, up 15.2844 million mt or 12.2 percent.
The breakdown of China's steel production in March according to the various products is as follows:
Products | Output in March (10,000 mt) | Change year on year (10,000 mt) | Change year on year (%) | Jan-March output (10,000 mt) | Change year on year (10,000 mt) | Change year on year (%) |
Large profiles | 89.6 | -0.85 | -0.9 | 252.02 | 9.2 | 3.8 |
Medium profiles | 272.13 | -19.62 | -6.7 | 653.43 | 21.7 | 3.4 |
834.27 | -4.76 | -0.6 | 2246.92 | 4.66 | 0.2 | |
711.65 | 51.44 | 7.8 | 1892.84 | 80.34 | 4.4 | |
Medium plate | 528.23 | 94.24 | 21.7 | 1477.36 | 269.69 | 25.1 |
HR coil | 923.74 | 250.16 | 37.1 | 2552.83 | 605.08 | 31.1 |
CR coil | 318.81 | 43.23 | 15.7 | 861.1 | 97.27 | 12.7 |
HR narrow steel strip | 340.94 | -5.43 | -1.6 | 952.18 | 10.37 | 1.1 |
Coated sheet (coil) | 155 | 13.24 | 9.3 | 417.6 | 25.3 | 6.4 |
Electrical steel sheet (coil) | 36 | 1.49 | 4.3 | 110.61 | 14.75 | 15.4 |
Seamless steel pipe | 167.26 | 24.75 | 17.4 | 427.46 | 47.86 | 12.6 |
Welded steel pipe | 206.81 | 29.72 | 16.8 | 492.68 | 35.58 | 7.8 |
China's coke output for March totaled 29.0429 million mt, up 3.7878 million mt or 15 percent year on year. Meanwhile, national coke output for the January-March period reached 81.3002 million mt, up 9.7391 million mt or 13.6 percent year on year.
China's ferroalloy output totaled 1.6312 million mt in March, up 292,200 mt or 21.8 percent year on year. For the January-March period, on the other hand, national ferroalloy production reached 4.1407 million mt, up 527,000 mt or 14.6 percent year on year.
In March, China's iron ore output totaled 66.0921 million mt, up 12.8606 million mt or 24.2 percent compared with the same month last year. The January-March iron ore output reached 167.6855 million mt, up 33.6049 million mt or 25.1 percent year on year.
Also taking imports and exports into consideration, the newly-added supply of crude steel to China's market in March totaled 42.1084 million mt, up 6.4951 million mt or 18.2 percent year on year. The growth rate is 10.2 percentage points higher compared with the same period last year. In the first quarter, the newly-added crude steel supply amounted to 117.3063 million mt, up 14.2972 million mt or 13.9 percent year on year and down 0.8 of a percentage point.
The remarkable increase in the newly-added crude steel supply in March is the major factor causing the stagnancy of the recent Chinese steel market, which is also the direct reason for the relatively high inventory levels in the current market. Looking at the current situation, given that the mills' production levels will be maintained at present levels, if no improvement is seen in exports, the market pressure is not likely to gain any relief in the short term.