Posted on 20 Jun 2024
Crude steel production among China's top 10 steelmaking provinces and autonomous regions totaled 67.54 million tonnes in May, rising by 6.16% on year, with 8 out of the 10 posting on-year increases in their steel output, according to the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Supported by a series of favourable macro policies and high raw material prices, China's finished steel prices recovered to some extent in May, which buoyed steelmakers' profitability and prompted many mills to speed up steel production accordingly.
For example, the profit ratio among the 247 Chinese blast furnace (BF) mills under Mysteel's tracking climbed to 52.81% by end-May, higher by 19.91% from the same period last year, according to Mysteel's survey.
Among the country's 10 steel hubs, Fujian province in Southeast China posted the most significant on-year rise in crude steel output last month, with the production volume swelling by 40.08% on year to reach 3.53 million tonnes, NBS data showed.
This was mainly due to the fact that steel major Sansteel Minguang in April put its new BF into operation, which has an annual hot metal capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, as reported.
South China's Guangdong province also saw its steel output climb by 29.22% on year to 3.98 million tonnes in May. The commissioning of new projects at local steel producers likely contributed to this increase, according to a Guangdong-based market watcher.
Guangdong Jinshenglan Metallurgy Technology began operating its third production line in March, which is part of its 8 million tonnes/year high-quality special steel project, Mysteel Global noted.
Over January-May, crude steel output among China's top 10 steelmaking provinces and autonomous regions added up to 318.38 million tonnes, up by 0.08% on year, with 6 out of the 10 hubs showing on-year declines in steel output, according to the NBS data.
Table-1 May steel output among China's top 10 steel-producing hubs
Ranking | Province/Autonomous Region | Volume (mln t) | Y-o-Y (%) |
1 | Hebei | 19.84 | 1.74 |
2 | Jiangsu | 10.64 | -1.21 |
3 | Shandong | 6.75 | 8.00 |
4 | Liaoning | 6.23 | 4.36 |
5 | Shanxi | 5.89 | 2.08 |
6 | Guangxi | 4.1 | 17.48 |
7 | Guangdong | 3.98 | 29.22 |
8 | Fujian | 3.53 | 40.08 |
9 | Hubei | 3.32 | 12.16 |
10 | Anhui | 3.26 | -1.51 |
Total |
| 67.54 | 6.16 |
Source: NBS
Table-2 Jan-May steel output among China's top 10 steel-producing hubs
Ranking | Province/Autonomous Region | Volume (mln t) | Y-o-Y (%) |
1 | Hebei | 94.06 | -2.33 |
2 | Jiangsu | 52.37 | -0.74 |
3 | Shandong | 31.31 | -1.14 |
4 | Liaoning | 29.62 | -7.58 |
5 | Shanxi | 25.67 | -9.93 |
6 | Guangxi | 19.39 | 17.59 |
7 | Guangdong | 18.27 | 19.65 |
8 | Fujian | 16.5 | 17.52 |
9 | Hubei | 15.6 | 3.86 |
10 | Anhui | 15.59 | -2.74 |
Total |
| 318.38 | 0.08 |
Source: NBS
Source:Mysteel Global
