Posted on 09 Oct 2026
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the steel industry in North China's Hebei province – the country's top steel production base – declined by 3.2 points on month in September to reach 48, falling below the 50-point threshold that connotes contraction, according to new data released by the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association.
The return of Hebei's PMI to the contraction zone last month reflected the weaker sentiment of steel buyers in the province as a limp recovery in demand failed to live up to the expectations of market participants for a pickup in steel consumption in September, Mysteel Global noted.
Specifically, the sub-index for new orders received by steel mills in Hebei dropped by 4.9 points from August to 45.1 last month. This was indicative of a persistently weak property industry, slow progress in infrastructure projects and cautious purchasing activity among end-buyers, the release said.
On the other hand, the sub-index for new export orders climbed by 7 points on month to reach 54.8 in September, thanks to the faster delivery of previous export orders, especially those to countries that have joined Beijing's 'belt and road initiative', the association remarked.
On the supply side, widening margin losses prompted integrated steelmakers and rolling mills in Hebei to halt more of their facilities for maintenance, sending the sub-index for production lower by 3.6 points on month to 48.8 in September, the release commented.
Despite the lower production volume, this failed to offset the overall weakness in end-user demand last month, causing the sub-index for finished steel stocks at local mills to mount by 2.7 points on month to 50, the association said.
Meanwhile, the sub-index for raw material stocks slumped by 9.8 points on month to 40.2 in September, as the margin losses being accrued by mills, together with their bets for more downside room to come for raw material prices, propelled them to adopt a needs-based strategy for raw material procurement, the association indicated.
The sub-index for raw material prices fell by 8.5 points to 61 in September, with price trends of key steelmaking materials mixed last month. However, overall feedstock prices remained relatively resilient, the association observed.
Likewise, the sub-index for finished steel items also slipped 8.6 points to 46.3 last month, mainly because of the lackluster end-user demand and weakening ferrous futures combined to hurt market participants' confidence, according to the release.
This caused them to lower their offers and dragged down the spot prices of finished steel items, it added.
Source:Mysteel Global
