【SMM Steel】JSW Steel's crude steel output falls 1% in April

Freight. From January to April, national railways cumulatively completed freight volume of 1.727 billion mt, up 2.8% YoY; freight turnover reached 1,227.427 billion mt-km, up 5.4% YoY. In April, freight volume reached 446 million mt, up 4.3% YoY; freight turnover reached 320.623 billion mt-km, up 6.3% YoY. By commodity category, from January to April, national railways cumulatively transported coal (920 million mt), containers (349 million mt), and fertilizers & pesticides (21.15 million mt), up 3.4%, 9.1%, and 14.6% YoY respectively, with key commodity transportation effectively guaranteed. Fixed asset investment. From January to April, national railway fixed asset investment totaled 200.8 billion yuan, up 3.2% YoY, with railway construction advancing with high quality and efficiency.

In January–April, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16,494.1 billion yuan, up 1.9% YoY. Of this, retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles totaled 15,205.3 billion yuan, up 3.1%. In April, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,724.7 billion yuan, up 0.2% YoY. Of this, retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles totaled 3,421.8 billion yuan, up 1.8%.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in April 2026, China's crude steel production was 83.63 million mt, down 2.8% YoY; pig iron production was 70.69 million mt, down 3.6% YoY; steel production was 122.63 million mt, down 1.7% YoY. From January to April, China's crude steel production was 331.12 million mt, down 4.1% YoY; pig iron production was 282.28 million mt, down 3.1% YoY; steel production was 471.94 million mt, down 1.3% YoY.