How Is the Current Situation of Galvanized Sheets at the Beginning of the Regular Consumption "Peak Season" in March? [SMM Analysis]

SMM, March 11:

March is traditionally the "peak season" for downstream zinc consumption. As the first week of March unfolds, how have galvanized sheet enterprises been performing recently? What are the market expectations for the "Golden March and Silver April"?

Domestic orders: With rising temperatures across regions, outdoor construction and other end-user projects are gradually recovering, driving a continuous increase in new orders for galvanized sheet manufacturers. Additionally, enterprises in the home appliance and automotive industries have mostly resumed production after the holiday, and subsidy policies such as "trade-in" continue to promote consumption of certain low and mid-end galvanized sheets. Overall, domestic orders for related galvanized sheets have shown a significant increase compared to February.

Profitability: Since November last year, cold-rolled ferrous metals series prices have remained in a sluggish and volatile state, with declining raw material prices limiting the boost to galvanized sheet finished product prices. The market generally holds a "rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn" sentiment, leading to sustained compression of order profitability. Some enterprises have reduced production to minimize losses, and profitability has not shown significant improvement in March.

Regional perspective: Galvanized sheet plants that had suspended operations before the holiday have now fully resumed production, and most enterprises have returned to pre-holiday production levels in March. Although recent environmental protection warnings in Hebei, Tianjin, and Shandong have imposed certain restrictions on production for some enterprises, the overall impact has been limited. The increase in production driven by order recovery is more pronounced, and domestic galvanized sheet plant operations are expected to see a seasonal surge in March.

Overall: According to SMM, although domestic galvanized sheet operations have largely recovered recently, overall order performance remains "mediocre" and has not exceeded market expectations. Furthermore, with ongoing tariff disruptions, some enterprises are expressing concerns about the future performance of galvanized sheet exports. SMM will continue to monitor the subsequent performance of the galvanized sheet market.

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