The inventory grew slightly during the holiday, the steel mills cut output of rebar in favour of wire rod [SMM survey]

Operating rate and forecast of building materials production lines in central China steel mills
During the survey period (April 30-May 6), the weekly output of rebar decreased and the output of wire rod increased at steel mills in central China this week. The total inventory of steel mills increased slightly, but the inventory trends of rebar and wire rod were differentiated. It is expected that the output of steel mills in central China will increase in the next period.
During the survey period (Apr 30-May 6), rebar rolling line production in central China declined slightly
Specifically: Steel mills at Hunan had a temporary maintenance due to equipment failure in the early stage, and has now resumed production, but the shutdown period was short and the impact on output was small; some steel mills in the Henan had good billet orders, and the rebar rolling line temporarily shut down for 4 days during this period, and the output in this period was slightly reduced; the production of steel mills in the Hubei has not changed much.
In terms of factory inventory, the market gradually resumed normal trading on the 4th. Some agents were optimistic about the post-holiday trend and accelerated the pick-up, resulting in a slight decrease in rebar factory inventory. It is expected that there may be room for increase in rebar production in central China next week, mainly because the steel mills in Henan that are under maintenance this period may have plans to resume production next period, but the factories will continue to sell steel billets, and the increase in output may be limited.
During the survey period (April 30-May 6), the wire rod operation rate and capacity utilization rate in the central China region increased
Specifically: In this period, steel mills in Hunan and Henan have resumed wire rod rolling line production, the number of days the rolling lines are in operation has increased, and the number of production days in this period is greater than that in the previous period, resulting in a significant increase in output. In terms of factory inventory, steel mill output increased in this period, and some agents' resources in stock were waiting to be picked up, so factory inventory increased slightly.
It is expected that the wire rod output in the central China will increase next week, mainly because the production days of steel mills that have resumed production in Henan and Hunan will return to normal in the next period.