In the January-September period this year, Chinese key steel enterprises’ (monitored by the China Iron and Steel Association) operating revenue amounted to RMB 4.54 trillion ($0.64 trillion), down 6.87 percent year on year, while posted a gross profit of RMB 28.977 billion ($4.1 billion), down 56.39 percent year on year, as announced by CISA.
Jiang Wei, Vice President and Secretary General of CISA stated that supply and demand contradictions have been prominent in China’s steel industry. The production output of crude steel declined slightly, while domestic demand slackened further than the output. In the first nine months this year, China’s apparent consumption of crude steel decreased by 6.2 percent year on year. Meanwhile, according to the forecast made by the World Steel Association, China’s demand for steel may decline by 3.0 percent in 2024, while might decrease by 1.0 percent in 2025.
Jiang Wei pointed out that a new dynamic balance between supply and demand has not yet formed in the current steel market, while steelmakers have been on the impulse to produce. However, if steelmakers can’t adhere to self-discipline in holding the production capacity utilization rates, they might witness “the more steelmakers produce, the more they lose”. Thereby CISA urged steelmakers to halt production outputs, taking practical and strong action to jointly maintain the smooth operation of the steel industry.