In the January-March period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 210.98 million mt, 247.55 million mt and 351.44 million mt, decreasing by 2.9 percent, 4.6 percent and 1.7 percent year on year, respectively, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This means that the pace of decline of crude steel output increased from 3.6 percent in the first two months to 4.6 percent in the first quarter, which was due to the weaker-than-expected situation in the local market in March, the slowdown of exports due to new export licensing system, and since some mills decided to maintain lower production after China’s New Year holiday, seeing smaller-than-expected margins.
In March this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 73.28 million mt, 87.04 million mt and 130.98 million mt, declining by 3.3 percent, 6.3 percent and 2.3 percent year on year, respectively.
According to the 2026 Government Work Report, China will reduce steel production capacity in an orderly manner and promote the supply-demand balance and structural optimization. However, the decline in crude steel output in the first three months this year was mainly due to the weak performance of the real estate sector, with no major mandatory production cut orders issued by the Chinese government.