Regional Inventory Divergence Intensifies, Building Materials Social Inventory Edges Up This Period

Building Materials Social Inventory: According to the SMM survey, the pace of inventory buildup for total building materials social inventory continued to slow down this period. As of July 23, 2026, SMM building materials social inventory stood at 5.6155 million mt, with inventory buildup of 11,400 mt WoW, an increase of 0.20%. This was mainly because mid-week, stimulated by raw material news, market sentiment recovered and speculative purchases improved, leading to a continued slowdown in the pace of social inventory buildup.

Regional Social Inventory: Currently, inventory performance across regions continued to diverge. Inventory in east China edged down overall, primarily because safety inspections in coastal areas during the survey period disrupted terminal operations, slowing the pace of inventory arrivals. Inventory in northeast China continued to build up, mainly due to persistent water accumulation at downstream construction sites in some areas, which hindered construction progress and resulted in weak demand. In northwest China, outward shipments of resources increased recently, leading to a significant inventory decline. Other regions saw a slight inventory buildup.