During the survey period (April 14–April 20), the rebar rolling line operating rate in the Central China region remained temporarily stable, while the capacity utilization rate declined slightly.
Specifically, some steel mills in Hunan underwent periodic commissioning of production equipment, with mid-week operating hours declining slightly, and rebar supply decreased marginally this week. On the mill inventory side, during the survey period, the impact of rainy weather weakened, downstream construction site purchasing improved somewhat, and coupled with a sharp rise in futures on Monday, market sentiment was significantly boosted. Some pre-holiday stockpiling demand was released, and inventory continued to decline.
Rebar supply in Central China is expected to increase slightly in the next period, mainly because Hunan steel mills plan to resume normal production next week after completing commissioning, with the capacity utilization rate rising slightly.
During the survey period (April 14–April 20), the operating rate of wire rod rolling lines in the Central China region remained stable, while the capacity utilization rate shifted from decline to increase.
Specifically, during the survey period, partial shortages of wire rod had emerged in Henan, and steel mills chose to increase the operating hours of wire rod rolling lines to ensure wire rod supply, resulting in a slight increase in overall supply. On mill inventory, shipments of wire rod in the region improved during the survey period, driving seasonal inventory destocking.
It is expected that wire rod rolling line supply in Central China will still see a slight increase in the next period, mainly because some steel mills in Henan plan to resume the production pace of wire rod rolling lines, with operating hours in the next period higher than the current period, driving a slight improvement in capacity utilization rate.
