Supply Continued to Shrink, Building Materials Social Inventory Buildup Pace Slowed This Period

Published: Aug 6, 2026 17:18

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Building materials social inventory: According to the SMM survey, total social inventory of building materials posted a slight buildup this period. As of August 6, 2026, SMM building materials social inventory stood at 5.7056 million mt, up 31,100 mt WoW, an increase of 0.55%, with the buildup pace slowing from the previous week. The main reasons were: futures continued to decline, market sentiment remained subdued, speculative purchasing willingness was weak; coupled with persistent hot and rainy weather, downstream construction site progress was slightly hampered, with only small amounts of rigid demand purchasing maintained. Inventory built up seasonally, but during the survey period, maintenance and production cuts at steel mills increased, supply continued to shrink, which slowed the inventory buildup pace.
Regional social inventory: Inventory performance across regions continued to diverge. In east China, overall inventory shifted from an increase to a decline, mainly because arrivals of resources from surrounding steel mills remained at medium-to-low levels overall, while rigid demand support still existed in the region. In northeast China, the inventory buildup pace accelerated slightly this period, mainly because steel mills' resource deliveries in the region increased slightly. In northwest China, inventory shifted from a decline to an increase this period, mainly because low-priced resources from surrounding areas flowed in considerably, boosting supply to some extent. Inventory performance in other regions was largely normal.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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