Posted on 09 Feb 2026
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) averaged 1.93 million tonnes/day during January 21-31, slipping by 2.2% or by 44,000 t/d from the previous ten days, according to the latest release from the association on February 5.
Contributing to the further decline in daily output was the fact that some domestic steel mills had been conducting maintenance of their steelmaking facilities ahead of the approaching Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday beginning February 15, according to market sources.
Based on the performance of its member mills, CISA estimated that the country's daily crude steel output averaged 2.39 million t/d during late-January, also down by 2.2% from January 11-20, the release revealed.
By volume, member mills in North China, the hub of China's steel sector, contributed the most to the production decline among the six regions that the association checks. Members in this region produced an average of 625,000 t/d over January 21-31, retreating by 5.1% or 34,000 t/d from the middle ten days of January, the CISA survey result showed.
On the other hand, daily finished steel output among the member mills averaged 1.88 million t/d over January 21-31, gaining by 3.2% or 59,000 t/d from mid-January, the same release pointed out.
Despite the gain, finished steel stocks held by the CISA member mills fell sharply in the ten-day period, partly because of restocking demand from end-users wanting to maintain inventory levels during CNY holiday when most traders and logistics firms will have halted work for the break, a Shanghai-based analyst pointed out.
The tonnage totalled 14.71 million tonnes as of January 31, lower by a substantial 8.8% or 1.42 million tonnes from the level on January 20, another release issued on the same day indicated.
In contrast, finished steel stocks held by traders in commercial warehouses in the 21 cities CISA regularly checks stood at 7.17 million tonnes as of January 31, rising by 1.1% or 80,000 tonnes from the previous ten-day period, data in another CISA release published Tuesday showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
