Steel Mills Resume Production After Military Parade, Impact from Maintenance on Construction Steel Declines

Published: Sep 9, 2025 11:53

Source: SMM

Save

According to the SMM survey, the impact from maintenance on construction steel declined during the current period (9.6-9.12) as steel mills resumed production as planned after the military parade, while some completed routine maintenance on blast furnaces, with both the furnaces and their supporting rebar rolling lines returning to operation. The impact from maintenance on construction steel reached 1.213 million mt this period, down 20,600 mt MoM.

Last week saw concentrated environmental protection-driven production restrictions for the military parade, with construction halts in some northern regions and intensified traffic controls, coupled with persistent rainfall in central and north-west China. As a result, demand during the September peak season failed to materialize as expected, downstream procurement remained cautious, and inventories at producers' warehouses and social inventories continued to accumulate at an accelerated pace. Rebar prices were in the doldrums, with the nationwide average price at 3,131.3 yuan/mt, down 64.7 yuan/mt MoM, as the price center kept trending downward. In contrast, iron ore prices on the raw material side showed relative strength, while coke prices were in the doldrums. Overall, raw materials outperformed finished products, leading to further contraction in construction steel profitability.

In summary, steel mills faced significant profit compression, with some even seeing marginal losses on rebar spot profitability, slightly dampening production enthusiasm. Several mills planned maintenance for blast furnaces and their supporting rolling lines. However, the overall impact from maintenance on construction steel edged down slightly as mills that had previously curtailed output or were affected by parade-related restrictions gradually resumed operations.

By region, the impact from maintenance on construction steel declined in north China, central China, and south-west China. In north and central China, mills that had cooperated with output controls or parade-related restrictions resumed production in the previous or current period. In south-west China, a few mills restarted blast furnaces and their supporting bar rolling lines after maintenance. The impact increased slightly in east China and north-east China, with a mill in Jiangsu planning a major overhaul of its rebar rolling line, while a mill in Liaoning conducted maintenance on a large blast furnace, halting its supporting construction steel rolling line. In other regions, rolling lines maintained their maintenance status from the previous week, with no significant changes in impact.

Looking ahead, with no clear directional macro signals recently, no sustained price trends have emerged. However, cost-side support remains, and steel mills show strong reluctance to budge on prices. Meanwhile, the market still holds some expectations for the September-October peak season, keeping traders in a wait-and-see mood and reluctant to actively engage in low-price transactions. In the short term, the downside for spot construction steel prices may be limited. Given that most mills still generate profits from construction steel production, the impact from maintenance is expected to continue declining in the next period. The focus will remain on the release of construction steel demand in the coming period.

Steel

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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

21 hours ago

Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums, with coking coal and coke staging a mid-week rise. At the beginning of the week, financial markets experienced sharp fluctuations, dragging down sentiment in the ferrous chain and leading to a pullback in futures. Mid-week, Indonesia's cut to coke production quotas drove coking coal and coke futures to lead the gains, though the impact was more pronounced on thermal coal, while coking coal's rise was largely sentiment-driven and short-lived. In the latter part of the week, finished products continued their seasonal inventory buildup, and support from the raw material side weakened, causing the entire ferrous chain to pull back. In the spot market, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, purchasing activity slowed down further, with end-users only making limited, as-needed purchases at low prices.

21 hours ago

22 hours ago

MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)

Today, the DCE iron ore futures continued to hit bottom today, with the most-traded contract I2605 closing at 760.5 yuan/mt, down 1.23% from the previous trading day. Spot prices fell by 5–10 yuan/mt compared to the previous trading day.

22 hours ago

[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Trading and Inquiries Weakened, Chrome Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday] February 6, 2026: Today, the ex-factory price of high-carbon ferrochrome in Inner Mongolia was 8,500-8,600 yuan/mt (50% metal content), flat MoM from the previous trading day...

22 hours ago