A spokesperson for the China Steel Pipe Association (CSPA) has stated that China's steel pipe exports are expected to drop 50 percent or so to five million mt in 2009, with total Chinese steel pipe production for the year in question likely to be around 40-42 million mt.
Due to the demand shrinkage in the international market during the second half of 2008, China's steel exports slumped significantly, but with the notable exception of exports of steel pipes.
With oil prices soaring in the first half of 2008, and also due to the timing of ordering cycles, some Chinese oil pipe producers still had many export orders on their books during the second half of last year. Moreover, the announcement of China's export rebate adjustment also spurred domestic pipe producers to step up their export activities. Last year China's total steel pipe exports amounted to 9.895 million mt, up 15.28 percent year on year and accounting for 22.4 percent of total domestic steel pipe production. Meanwhile, OCTG exports totaled 7.8 million mt, constituting 78.8 percent of total pipe exports.
Entering 2009, international demand for steel pipe plummeted dramatically. It is reported that OCTG inventories in the US have reached 4 million mt, exceeding expected consumption for the whole year.