On the 22nd, the China Iron and Steel Industry Association held an information conference in the first quarter of 2020 and pointed out that the steel industry has accelerated the resumption of production and production, and the domestic steel demand has gradually recovered. Issues such as a substantial decline in business efficiency.
According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, the cumulative production of crude steel nationwide was 234.54 million tons, an increase of 1.2% year-on-year, and the average daily output was 2.5764 million tons, an increase of 0.09% year-on-year; pig iron production was 19.94 million tons, an increase of 2.4% year-on-year; Steel products (including repetitive materials) were 264.74 million tons, down 1.6% year-on-year. Among them, in March, the national crude steel output was 78.98 million tons, down 1.7% year-on-year; the average daily output was 2.5477 million tons, down 1.68% year-on-year and 1.19% down from January to February.
He Wenbo, secretary of the party committee of the China Steel Association and leader of the epidemic response leadership group, said that the epidemic had a greater impact on steel demand. In addition to the decline in domestic demand, overseas exports also face greater pressure. Demand for foreign steel products has fallen sharply, and the major export companies' new orders in March and April have decreased significantly month-on-month. "Since the end of March, it has been common for overseas orders to postpone delivery. At the same time, there are also some cases where orders are required to be reduced or even cancelled, which will adversely affect China's steel exports."
However, He Wenbo said that the operation of the industry in the first quarter showed that the steel industry has withstood the test of the epidemic and has the ability to resist the current risks. However, we should be soberly aware that there has been a contradiction between the phased capacity release and the actual consumption recovery not as expected, which has brought high inventory. Therefore, the steel industry should make a scientific decision on the direction of investment, prevent blind large-scale construction of new steel production capacity, and be alert to the risk of serious overcapacity again.
