End-user projects continue stockpiling, and social inventory of construction steel continued rapid destocking this week

Published: Sep 30, 2026 17:40 (GMT+8)

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Construction steel social inventory: According to an SMM survey, total social inventory of construction steel continued rapid destocking this week. As of September 30, 2026, SMM construction steel social inventory stood at 4.4285 million mt, down 319,000 mt WoW, a decline of 6.72%. This was mainly because downstream end-users still had some stockpiling demand, driving inventory destocking.
Regional social inventory: Inventories in all regions showed a downward trend this week, with destocking in east China particularly notable. This was mainly because arrivals of market resources in Hangzhou and Shanghai remained low recently, while end-user project stockpiling demand continued to be released, driving rapid inventory destocking. In northwest China, the WoW decline in social inventory widened, mainly because individual steel mills in the region chose to halt production for maintenance due to sustained losses, leading to a decline in construction steel supply. In addition, in north China, downstream end-users in Beijing still had stockpiling demand, and spot-futures traders sold at low prices, sustaining the destocking pace. Inventory performance in other regions was basically normal.

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.

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