Posted on 09 Dec 2021
In December, China's construction steel demand is expected to shrink further on fewer new projects, more suspension among the ongoing project, and contractors' tactic to procure just their immediate needs, Mysteel shared the conclusion on December 7 after having surveyed 563 related enterprises across the country.
It, however, did not quantify the on-month decline either in percent or actual volume, but explained the market situation from the perspective of construction projects including both infrastructure and property, the core consumer of long steel products.
The latest survey found that for December, newly-launched projects will amount to 508, or down 78 on month, while 655 projects have been confirmed to postpone the launch, or 96 more on month, according to the report.
By the end of November, 14,487 projects were still under construction nationwide, or down 471 on month, with the breakdown by region showed the drop was partly due to the halts in North, Northeast and Northwest China in the cold winter, though some of those ongoing projects have picked up the pace with the improvement in their liquidity.
By the end of November, construction steel stocks at the ongoing projects would be sufficient for 4.5 days of use, which was below the normal seven-day level or down 0.2 day on month, mainly as the need for restocking is almost nil despite steel price volatility as well as that many projects are at the final stage and will be completed by the yearned, Mysteel shared.
The last month of a calendar year is usually when Chinese banks collect their short- or medium-term loans, so the liquidity among the construction projects will be one of the decisive factors for their steel demand, the report highlighted.
By December 2, no slow-down had been felt, as China's weekly construction steel apparent consumption was assessed at 4.92 million tonnes, up 7.9% on week or nearly 20% higher on month but down 5.2% on year, according to Mysteel's other survey.
Source:Mysteel Global
