[SMM Steel Market Morning News] Shanghai's Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption: Accelerate the Construction of a New Model for Real Estate Development and Progressively Promote the Renovation of Old Residential Areas

★Macro★

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China and the 10 ASEAN Countries Fully Concluded the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Negotiations

The Special Meeting of the China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Ministers was held online on May 20, where the economic and trade ministers of both sides jointly announced the full conclusion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations.

The 3.0 negotiations were launched in November 2022, and after nearly two years and nine rounds of formal negotiations, they were substantially concluded in October 2024. With the full coordination and joint efforts of the economic and trade ministers of various countries, both sides fully completed the negotiations, taking a crucial step towards the goal of signing the upgrade protocol.

★Industry and Downstream★

National Bureau of Statistics: China's Excavator Production Exceeded 100,000 Units from January to April

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in April 2025, China's excavator production reached 26,022 units, up 13% YoY. From January to April 2025, China's excavator production totaled 106,394 units, up 14.3% YoY.

Simandou Railway Successfully Completed Full-Span Beam Erection

Maribaya, Guinea, May 19, 2025—With the final 32.6-meter-long, 134.3-mt T-beam securely placed on the Kabélé River Bridge, the full-span beam erection task for the 205 bridges and a total of 9,116 T-beams of the Simandou Railway across Guinea was successfully completed! This national transportation artery, spanning over 600 kilometers from east to west in Guinea, has now fully established its "skeleton framework," marking the official entry of the Simandou project into a new phase of sprinting towards operation.

[SMM Building Materials Inventory Overview] Hangzhou and Guiyang Inventories Rose WoW

As of May 21, this week's total building materials inventory in Xi'an was 423,000 mt, down 31,000 mt WoW, a WoW decline of 6.83%.

This week's inventory in Hangzhou was 751,000 mt, with a WoW inventory buildup of 11,000 mt, up 1.49% WoW.

As of May 21, this week's total building materials inventory in Guiyang was 53,400 mt, up 2,100 mt WoW, a WoW increase of 4.1%; among which rebar inventory was 31,300 mt, up 8,000 mt WoW; wire rod inventory was 22,100 mt, up 1,300 mt WoW.

As of May 20, 2025, building materials inventory in Beijing was 433,600 mt, down 68,000 mt compared to May 13, a WoW decline of 13.56%, with overall inventory accelerating its decline.

[SMM HRC Inventory Overview] Shanghai and Lecong HRC Inventories Showed Mixed Changes WoW

This week's HRC inventory in Shanghai was 29.56 mt, up 1,700 mt WoW, an increase of 0.58%; with a YoY decline of 27.44% on the Gregorian calendar and a YoY decline of 24.13% on the lunar calendar.

This WeekLecong HRC Inventory63.03 mt, down 30,800 mt WoW, a decrease of 4.66%; down 347,600 mt YoY, a decrease of 35.55%.

[SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate] More Blast Furnaces Undergoing Annual Maintenance, Pig Iron Production Continues to Decline

According to the SMM survey, as of May 21, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.41%, down 0.23 percentage points WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 90.08%, down 0.37 percentage points WoW. The daily average pig iron production of the sample steel mills was 2.4303 million mt, down 10,000 mt WoW.

★Other Hot Topics★

⭕[Shanghai Municipal Government's Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption: Accelerate the Construction of a New Model for Real Estate Development and Progressively Renovate Old Residential Areas]The General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption in Shanghai". It mentioned that it would better meet housing consumption needs. Accelerate the construction of a new model for real estate development, and build "good homes" that are safe, comfortable, green, and smart. Expand the scope of comprehensive renovations for beautiful homes and progressively renovate old residential areas. Expand the supply of affordable rental housing, with a focus on young people. Support residents' rigid and improvement housing needs, and implement relevant tax policies to promote the steady and healthy development of the real estate market. Expand the scope of application of housing provident funds, explore and optimize the policies for the use of housing provident funds, and implement the implementation measures for the payment, withdrawal, and use of housing provident funds by flexible workers in the city.

⭕[Shanghai Municipal Government's Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption: Intensify and Expand the Implementation of Trade-in Policies for Consumer Goods]The General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption in Shanghai". It mentioned that it would intensify and expand the implementation of trade-in policies for consumer goods. Promote automobile consumption and implement the national automobile scrappage and renewal subsidies and the city's automobile replacement and renewal subsidy policies. Implement the national home appliance trade-in subsidy policy, add new subsidies for the purchase of digital products such as mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches (bands), and intensify support for the consumption of green home appliances, home furnishings, and home improvement products.

⭕[Panzhihua Steel Wins Largest Single Order for Forged Superalloys]Recently, Panzhihua Changcheng Special Steel successfully secured an order for 345 mt of forged superalloys in four specifications from a high-end domestic aviation customer. This is the first time Panzhihua Steel has won a large order exceeding 300 mt for a single forging, marking a key step forward in the domestic manufacturing of high-end metal materials.

⭕[HBIS's Nickel-Based Alloy Hot-Rolled Wide Sheets Promote Localisation of High-End Manufacturing Materials]Recently, HBIS Materials Research Institute delivered two types of nickel-based alloy hot-rolled wide sheets, NS334 and NS336, to customers. After rigorous inspection by customers, all indicators of the products met the relevant standard requirements, and they excelled in corrosion resistance, high-temperature strength, and application scope. This marks a breakthrough for HBIS in the production of nickel-based alloy hot-rolled wide sheets, breaking foreign monopolies. It not only enhances HBIS's competitiveness in the domestic and overseas markets but also contributes to the application of domestically produced steel in China's high-end manufacturing sector.

⭕[Successful Launch of New No.1 Converter in JISCO Hongxing's Ultra-Low Emission Retrofit Project]Recently, significant progress has been made in the ultra-low emission retrofit project in the steelmaking area of JISCO Hongxing Hongyu New Materials Company: the newly retrofitted No.1 converter was successfully launched, marking a crucial period in the project's construction. This has accumulated valuable experience for the subsequent retrofitting of No.2 and No.3 converters and has also pressed the "accelerator" for the enterprise's green and low-carbon transformation and development.

⭕[Successful Precision Hoisting of Ultra-Large-Span Crane Beam in JISCO Carbon Steel Sheet Mill Project]On May 16, a key milestone was reached in the process optimization and product structure adjustment project of JISCO Carbon Steel Sheet Mill—the 52.6-meter large-span crane beam was precisely hoisted into place, marking the successful completion of a critical period in the "100-Day Crucial Task" retrofit project of the tunnel furnace and laying a solid foundation for the subsequent construction of the project.

⭕[South Korea's Steel Exports to the US Fell 10% YoY in the First Four Months]According to reports, South Korea's steel export value to the US from January to April this year was $1.384 billion, a 10.2% YoY decrease, which was significantly larger than the decrease in steel export value to markets other than the US during the same period (2.6%).