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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe shocks in steel demand so far in 2020 and the recovery will be slow, acknowledged Nae Hee Han from the World Steel Association (WSA) at the 2020 SEASI e-Conference on June 30. And among all steel-consuming industries, automobile manufacturing is the sector being impacted the most, she told delegates.
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Chinese production of air-conditioners declined by 14.7% on year to 19.4 million units during May, according to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, with the May result taking total production over January-May to some 78 million units, lower by 23.1% on year, the NBS data show. However, the pace of the decline had slowed marginally from the 24.8% decrease charted over the first four months.
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Chinese shipbuilders received new vessels orders equivalent to 11.6 million dead weight tons (dwt) in total over January-May, down 1.2% on year, according to the latest release by the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) published on June 19. Demand for new vessels stayed dull as global freight markets continue to be buffeted by the coronavirus storm, Chinese market sources said Friday, admitting they were pessimistic about the medium- to long-term future for the country’s shipbuilding industry.
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Better than expected, China’s auto sales rose on year and on month for the second successive month in May after a 21-month continuing drop, up 14.5% on year or 5.9% on month to 2.2 million units, mainly due to the government’s preferential policies and robust demand for trucks for infrastructure construction, according to the release from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on June 11.
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China’s sales of excavators for both domestic and overseas customers for May had rose on year for the third successive month, up 68% on year, as end-users had been booking in anticipation of more construction projects in the coming months, according to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) on June 9.
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The combined gross profit of enterprises in China’s auto industry surged 29.5% on year during April, according to the latest release by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on May 27. The sector received a moderate boost from the rise in sales last month – reflecting the lift in demand that had been delayed by the battle against COVID-19 – but market sources warn that the handsome profits would be difficult to repeat.
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Market feedback on notices just released by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on boosting home appliance sales and improving the recycling system for old appliances show the country’s determination to support the white goods sector and accelerate the pace of ‘green’ development.
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China’s production of air-conditioners dropped by 24.8% on year over the first four months of 2020, though the pace of the decline slowed marginally from the 27.9% decrease seen during January-March, according to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Demand for the units has not fully returned, and concerns about retreating global demand and hovering high stocks saw makers continue to restrain production, market sources said.
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The volume of orders for new vessels that Chinese shipbuilders received over January-April increased by 4.1% on year to the equivalent of 9.9 million dead weight tonnes (dwt) in total, according to the latest release by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) published on May 15. However, the global shipbuilding industry continues to be buffeted by the COVID-19 contagion rampaging worldwide.
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Sales among China’s eleven major auto manufacturers declined by a large 19.9% on month or by 13.9% on year to 351,000 units over May 1-10, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) published on May 13. The decline in sales indicated that actual demand for new vehicles remains soft, Mysteel Global noted.
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After witnessing on-year declines for 21 successive months, automotive sales in China finally had a reprieve in April, with sales last month increasing by 4.4% on year to 2.1 million units, according to the latest release from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on May 11. The rises were mainly thanks to the delay in demand over the past few months and to government stimulus policies, industry watchers say.
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Sales of heavy-duty trucks across China in the 14 to 100-tonnes class during April increased by a significant 52% on year and by 50% on month to some 180,000 units, according to new data released by Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World. Last month’s sales were the highest for any April on record, CVWorld noted.
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China has decided to continue providing the subsidies now in place on new-energy vehicles over 2020-2022 in order to boost NEV sales, though the size of the incentives will decline, according to an official release from China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) on April 23.
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China’s production of white goods with air conditioner in particular, slumped 10-30% on year for the first quarter of 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak first in China in late January and then the worldwide starting early march, according to the latest statistics released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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The COVID-19 is expected to decline the global steel demand further in the second quarter of 2020 “mainly due to the deep manufacturing recession in the developed economies”, according to the interim steel demand economic statement by the World Steel Association (WSA) on April 17.
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Chinese shipbuilders received new vessel orders equivalent to 4.9 million dead weight tonnes (dwt) in total during this year’s Q1, according to the latest release by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) published on April 17. This marked an on-year increase of 6.5%, though the pace had slowed markedly from the 41.4% increase seen over January-February, Mysteel Global notes.
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The Chinese property developers that have released their first-quarter results so far have all seen their businesses slashed 20-30% because of the COVID-19, according to their releases, though the market has been reviving fast since late March, according to market sources.
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China’s auto production and sales experienced significant declines in Q1, mainly due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the country, according to the latest release from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on April 10. However, the pace of decline slowed down in March as car makers resumed operations and consumption was propped up by government-backed stimulus policies.
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China’s excavator sales including those to domestic customers and for export declined by 8.2% on year during this year’s January-March quarter, mainly as domestic demand over the first two months was essentially frozen amidst the COVID-19 diffusion nationwide, according to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) published on April 9. Significantly though, sales in March surged by 11.6% as business began recovering in rural areas, the association noted.
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Click here for part 1 of the feature
How low China’s 2020 GDP growth will dip to?
Before the sudden breakout of COVID-19, it was widely anticipated that China’s GDP growth would not slow down too much from the 6.1% growth achieved in 2019, may be at around 5.8-6% for 2020.
The pandemic,
