Posted on 28 May 2026
Daily crude steel output among member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) remained largely stable over May 11-20, edging down by 0.7% or 14,000 tonnes/day from the first 10 days of May to average 2.1 million t/d, according to the association's latest release published on May 26.
Compared with the same period last year, the figure represented a larger decline of 4.7% though, results from the CISA survey showed.
Based on the performance of its member mills, CISA estimated that nationwide daily crude steel output fell by 0.9% from May 1-10 to average 2.81 million t/d during the middle 10 days of May.
In contrast, daily finished steel output among CISA member mills averaged 2.02 million t/d over May 11-20, rising by 3.3% or 65,000 t/d from May 1-10, according to the release.
Although the association did not explain the increase in finished steel production, relatively healthy profit margins have encouraged Chinese steelmakers to maintain output or restart some steelmaking facilities after maintenance work, Mysteel Global noted.
Mysteel's weekly survey also showed that combined output of the five major finished steel products -- rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and medium plate -- among the 137 Chinese steelmakers totaled 8.62 million tonnes over May 14-20, up 2.6% or 219,600 tonnes from the previous week.
Higher finished steel output led to a notable buildup in inventories held by CISA member mills -- their stocks rose by 11.2% or 1.89 million tonnes from May 10 to 18.77 million tonnes as of May 20, another CISA release showed.
Meanwhile, retail inventories at commercial warehouses continued their seasonal decline over May 11-20, with the pace of destocking accelerating from early May, mainly due to a recovery in spot transactions after the May Day holiday (May 1-5), Mysteel Global noted.
As of May 20, finished steel inventories at commercial warehouses in the 21 Chinese cities under CISA's tracking totaled 9.54 million tonnes, down 4.6% or 460,000 tonnes from 10 days earlier, according to another CISA release published on May 22. The pace of decline was double the 2.2% drop recorded over May 1-10.
Source:Mysteel Global
