Inflow and Outflow Slow Down, Social Inventory of Silicon Metal Slightly Increases [SMM Silicon Inventory]

On September 6, 2026, Western Dock-1 at India’s Paradip Port successfully berthed its first Capesize bulk carrier with a 16.5-metre draft, MV Mineral Kwangyang. Measuring 292 metres in length overall and 45 metres in breadth, the vessel carried 152,702 metric tonnes of coking coal from Hay Point, Australia. It arrived on September 5 and berthed at 06:00 the following day. Paradip Port Authority said the berthing demonstrated the dock’s enhanced capability to accommodate large, deep-draft bulk carriers and was expected to improve logistics efficiency and reduce vessel turnaround time.

Recently, the High-End Product R&D of Jingye Group's High-Grade Steel Division achieved another breakthrough. The HC220YD+Z-XY high-strength deep-drawing hot-dip galvanized sheet, custom-developed for a Shandong-based steel company, was successfully trial-produced. The first batch of 112.19 mt of products all passed inspection, with all mechanical properties, coating quality, and surface indicators meeting the client's technical requirements, qualifying for batch supply. HC220YD+Z-XY is an interstitial-free high-strength hot-dip galvanized steel sheet that combines good strength levels, excellent deep-drawing formability, and hot-dip galvanizing corrosion resistance. It is suitable for complex bending and stamping conditions, and places high technical demands on substrate material stability, continuous annealing processes, air knife coating control, and strip shape accuracy. The production process is prone to performance fluctuations, uneven coating, and springback during stamping, making process control highly challenging. To meet the client's customized material requirements, the High-Grade Steel Division formed a joint task force comprising technical, production, and quality inspection departments. Technical personnel optimized key processes such as annealing temperature, line tension, and post-galvanizing cooling based on the grade's composition characteristics, overcoming technical difficulties one by one, including material property dispersion, surface quality control, and forming stability. After multiple rounds of process debugging and sample testing, the first batch of 112.19 mt of galvanized sheet was successfully produced. Inspection confirmed that the sheets & plates' yield strength, elongation, zinc coating adhesion, and surface appearance all met the required standards, and the stamping and bending performance satisfied the client's subsequent processing requirements.

Indian steel prices are expected to rise further in the coming weeks, driven by higher coking coal costs, planned mill maintenance and expectations of a post-monsoon demand recovery. Indian hot-rolled coil prices increased by 4,000 rupees per metric ton between August and early September, reaching a four-year high. A director at metals company Enlight Metals expects steel prices to rise by around another 3,500 rupees per ton in the coming weeks.