China's Steel Demand Trends and Market Impact in 2025 - News and Statistics - IndexBox

Nov 04, 2024

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Reuters reports that steel demand in China, the world's largest producer and consumer, is expected to stagnate or slightly decline in 2025 amidst growing trade frictions that pose significant risks to steel exports.

The apparent steel consumption in China for the first three quarters of 2024 decreased by 6.2% year-on-year, achieving a total of 688 million metric tons, as per the state-backed China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), with expectations for full-year consumption remaining below 900 million tons.

China's crude steel output in the same period also saw a reduction of 3.6% year-on-year, with the total output likely to exceed 1 billion tons by the end of the year. The industry faces an oversupply driven by demand falling quicker than supply, which has depressed steel prices and adversely affected profitability among manufacturers.

The structural focus of China's steel consumption has transitioned more towards the manufacturing sector, with forecasts indicating that steel demand from this sector could rise to about 50% or even higher, according to Jiang Wei, vice chairman and secretary general of CISA.

With the property market, traditionally a major consumer, experiencing a prolonged downturn, Chinese steelmakers continue to grapple with profitability challenges.

According to Wang Bin from CISA, the market share captured by China's top 10 steel producers reached 40.9% during the first three quarters of the year. In comparison, the top steel producers in other developed nations have market shares ranging from 65% to 85%.

Data from the IndexBox platform highlights that in 2023, China's import value for raw steel and steel semi-finished products amounted to USD 2.648 billion. The top five contributing countries to China's imports include Indonesia with USD 1.137 billion, followed by Russia at USD 440.536 million, Oman at USD 437.706 million, Iran at USD 106.951 million, and Sweden at USD 98.556 million.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the market for raw steel and steel semi-finished products in China. Within it, you will discover the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The forecast exhibits the market prospects through 2030.

This report is designed for manufacturers, distributors, importers, and wholesalers, as well as for investors, consultants and advisors.

In this report, you can find information that helps you to make informed decisions on the following issues:

While doing this research, we combine the accumulated expertise of our analysts and the capabilities of artificial intelligence. The AI-based platform, developed by our data scientists, constitutes the key working tool for business analysts, empowering them to discover deep insights and ideas from the marketing data.

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