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China exported 25.7 million tonnes of finished steel over January-April, up 24.5% on year, and imports totalled 4.9 million tonnes over the same period, up 16.9% on year, the latest statistics from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) published on May 7 showed, with the growth rates largely the same as during first quarter.
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China's finished steel exports approximated 25.7 million tonnes over January-April, or up 24.5% on year, and the imports moved up 16.9% on year to 4.89 million tonnes over the same period, according to the release by the country's General Administration of Customs on May 7. A detailed report will be
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The Purchasing Managers’ Index for the steel industry in North China’s Hebei province, the country’s top steel production base, climbed again in April to reach 53.6, growing by another 1.2 basis points on month thanks to firm end-user demand, according to the latest release by the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association on May 1.
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Global automobile production by Japan’s eight major automakers during the fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) fell to a nine-year low, or recording a 12.2% on-year decline to about 23.12 million units, according to the latest data released by the automakers, though the on-year decline was not as steep as the market had expected.
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China’s heavy trucks sales may have slowed in April, with the sales volume expected to grow 4% on year but down 14% on month, as demand may take a pause after a robust March even though the National Stage VI specifications will be adopted starting H2, according to the projection by the Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World (CVWorld) on May 5.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for April rose by another 0.9 basis points on month to 53.6, indicating that Japanese manufacturers expect a stronger degree of positive sentiment regarding the year-ahead outlook for output, according to data from index compiler au Jibun Bank Corporation, released on April 30.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry inched down by 0.8 basis point on month to 51.1 for April, though having persisted in the expansion zone since March 2020, and all the key sub-indices including production and new orders were also above 50, according to the latest release by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 30.
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Starting July 1, China will ban both production and sales of new diesel-fuelled heavy-duty trucks with emission not up to the National Stage VI specifications, according to a recent release by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and MIIT, to minimize any confusion, even listed out the auto makers, auto models, and auto parts that are to be eliminated in the April 21 notice.
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China’s production of the four major home appliances increased significantly in the first quarter of this year, given the low bases in the same period last year, as well as their sustained strong export business. But dampening the manufacturers’ mood was the rise in raw materials and other input costs, Mysteel Global noted.
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The 64 countries worldwide under the monthly tracking by World Steel Association (WSA) posted a 10% on-year rise in their total steel output to 486.9 million tonnes over January-March, mainly due to the strong recovery in demand globally and low base a year ago, Mysteel Global noted from latest release by the association on April 22.
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Japan’s crude steel output during fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) including both carbon and special steel declined to a new low since fiscal 1969, down 15.9% on year to about 82.8 million tonnes, according to the latest data from the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) released on April 22.
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Over January-March, China’s shipbuilders received new vessel orders totalling 17.2 million dead weight tons (dwt), up 251.7% on year and much higher than the 105% on-year rise for January-February, mainly due to the low base in Q1 2020 and growing demand for container vessels, according to the data released by the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on April 21.
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China exported 11.4 million tonnes of flat steel products over January-March, or up 29% on year, according to the latest detailed statistics from the country’s General Administration of Customs, which accounted for 64.5% of the country’s total finished steel exports, confirming the strong demand and pricing competitiveness from the overseas markets, market sources noted.
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Japan’s finished steel exports of all grades and forms for the fiscal year 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) slumped to its 20-year low of about 30.8 million tonnes, or down 12.2% on year, Mysteel Global noted from the latest preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on April 19.
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China has the solid foundation to maintain stability in the consumer goods and industrial materials prices, Meng Wei, spokesperson of the country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), commented on April 19 at the press conference on the first-quarter domestic economic performance.
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China’s energy production and consumption recovered fast over the January-March quarter, following the steady resumption of economic activity last quarter, new data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. Despite the higher energy consumption, the country made more progress in energy saving, with energy consumption per GDP unit dropping 3.1% on year against the sharp growth of 18.3% on year in China’s total GDP in Q1.
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Hopes are rising in Japan that India’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has decided against imposing anti-dumping duties on stainless flat-rolled products imported from Japan and 14 other countries but the Japanese government is awaiting formal clarification before celebrating too loudly.
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When over a dozen of journalists dialled into the press conference of the World Steel Association on April 15, “carbon emission” and “regionalization” had been the most repeated words in the 40-minute discussion though the purpose of the call was about the association’s latest Short Range Outlook (SRO) that is usually released twice a year in April and October respectively.
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For 2021, China’s apparent steel use is estimated to grow though at a slower pace of 3% on year to about 1 billion tonnes, after a robust 9.1% on-year gain in 2020, and the speed may drop further to 1% on year in 2022, while the other countries in the world will catch up in recovery in steel consumption over 2021-2022, according to the Short Range Outlook (SRO) released by the World Steel Association (WSA) on April 15.
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China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) grew 25.6% on year over January-March to approximately Yuan 9.6 trillion ($1.47 trillion), which was also up 6% from Q1 2019, and among the total, that in the property market also soared 25.6% on year or 15.9% higher than two years ago, according to the release by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 16.
