Overall situation of steel import and export
In August, China imported 640,000 tons of steel, a decrease of 38,000 tons from the previous month and a decrease of 253,000 tons year-on-year. The average unit price of imports was US$1,669.2/ton, an increase of 4.2% from the previous month and a decrease of 0.9% from the same period last year. China exported 8.282 million tons of steel, an increase of 974,000 tons from the previous month and an increase of 2.129 million tons year-on-year. The average export unit price was US$810.7/ton, a decrease of 6.5% from the previous month and a decrease of 48.4% from the same period last year.
From January to August, China imported 5.058 million tons of steel, a year-on-year decrease of 32.11%; the average import unit price was US$1,695.8/ton, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%; the imported steel billets were 1.666 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 65.5%. China exported 58.785 million tons of steel, a year-on-year increase of 28.4%; the average export unit price was US$1,012.6/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 30.8%; China exported 2.192 million tons of steel billets, an increase of 1.303 million tons year-on-year; net crude steel exports were 56.942 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 20.796 million tons tons, an increase of 57.5%.
Hot rolled coils and plates export.
The growth is more obvious：
In August, China's steel exports ended two consecutive month-on-month declines and rose to the second highest level since the beginning of this year. The export volume of coated steel coils with large export volume maintained a growth trend, and the export growth of hot rolled steel sheets and mild steel plates were more obvious. Exports to major ASEAN and South American countries increased significantly month-on-month.
Situation by variety
In August, China exported 5.610 million tons of plates, a month-on-month increase of 19.5%, accounting for 67.7% of total exports. Among the varieties with larger export volumes, hot-rolled coils and medium-thick plates have seen significant growth, while exports of coated plates have maintained steady growth. Among them, hot-rolled coils increased by 35.9% month-on-month to 2.103 million tons; medium-thick plates increased by 35.2% month-on-month to 756,000 tons; and coated plates increased 8.0% month-on-month to 1.409 million tons. In addition, the export volume of rods and wire rods increased by 13.3% month-on-month to 1.004 million tons, of which wire rods and steel bars increased by 29.1% and 25.5% month-on-month respectively.
In August, China exported 366,000 tons of stainless steel, a month-on-month increase of 1.8%, accounting for 4.4% of total exports; the average export price was US$2,132.9/ton, a month-on-month decrease of 7.0%.
Sub-regional situation
In August, China exported 2.589 million tons of steel to ASEAN, a month-on-month increase of 29.4%. Among them, exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia increased by 62.3%, 30.8%, and 28.1% month-on-month respectively. Exports to South America were 893,000 tons, a month-on-month increase of 43.6%, of which exports to Colombia and Peru increased significantly by 107.6% and 77.2% month-on-month respectively.
Exports of primary products
In August, China exported 271,000 tons of primary steel products (including steel billets, pig iron, direct reduced iron, and recycled steel raw materials), of which steel billet exports increased by 0.4% month-on-month to 259,000 tons.
Imports of hot-rolled coils fell significantly month-on-month
In August, China’s steel imports remained at a low level. The import volume of cold-rolled sheets, medium plates, and coated plates, which are relatively large, continued to increase month-on-month, while the import volume of hot-rolled coils decreased significantly month-on-month.
Situation by variety
In August, China imported 554,000 tons of plate, a month-on-month decrease of 4.9%, accounting for 86.6% of total imports. The large import volumes of cold rolled steel coils, medium plates, and coated sheets continued to increase month-on-month, accounting for 55.1% of total imports. Among them, cold-rolled sheets increased by 12.8% month-on-month to 126,000 tons. The import volume of hot-rolled coils decreased by 38.2% month-on-month to 83,000 tons, of which medium-thick and wide steel strips and hot-rolled thin and wide steel strips decreased by 44.1% and 28.9% month-on-month respectively. The import volume of angle profiles decreased by 43.8% month-on-month to 9,000 tons.
In August, China imported 175,000 tons of stainless steel, a month-on-month increase of 27.6%, accounting for 27.3% of total imports, an increase of 7.1 percentage points from July. The average import price was US$2,927.2/ton, a month-on-month decrease of 8.5%. The increase in imports mainly came from Indonesia, which increased by 35.6% month-on-month to 145,000 tons. The larger increases were in billet and cold-rolled coils.
Sub-regional situation
In August, China imported a total of 378,000 tons from Japan and South Korea, a month-on-month decrease of 15.7%, and the import proportion dropped to 59.1%, of which China imported 184,000 tons from Japan, a month-on-month decrease of 29.9%. Imports from ASEAN were 125,000 tons, a month-on-month increase of 18.8%, of which imports from Indonesia increased by 21.6% month-on-month to 94,000 tons.
Import status of primary products
In August, China imported 375,000 tons of primary steel products (including steel billets, pig iron, direct reduced iron, and recycled steel raw materials), a month-on-month increase of 39.8%. Among them, steel billet imports increased by 73.9% month-on-month to 309,000 tons.
Post time: Oct-31-2023