Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 29th. Title: Production continues to be high and overall efficiency declines-Interpretation of China's steel industry data in August

  Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Xiyao

  The reporter learned from the China Iron and Steel Association on the 29th that in August, the demand for steel continued to grow year-on-year, the daily output of crude steel continued to rise, and the profitability of steel companies increased slightly. However, procurement costs continued to rise and sales profit margins continued to decline, restricting profitability. Continue to improve.

  The continuous high-level operation of production basically matches the actual demand

  According to data from China Steel Association, from January to August, the country’s cumulative crude steel output was 6.8889 million tons, an increase of 3.7% year-on-year.

In August, the national crude steel output was 94.85 million tons, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year. The average daily output was 3.06 million tons, exceeding the historical high of 3.05 million tons in June.

  He Wenbo, Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, believes that the continuous recovery of the domestic economy has led to a significant increase in steel demand and contributed to steel production exceeding historical levels.

“How much steel is produced is not determined by the steel industry itself, it is driven by demand.”

  From January to August, the apparent consumption of crude steel was 672 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.24%; the cumulative steel consumption of key industries has reached or exceeded the level of the same period.

  "The current actual demand for steel and steel production basically match." He Wenbo said that this benefited from the continuous and stable recovery of the national economy, and some economic indicators closely related to steel consumption continued to improve.

  Net exports fell to the lowest in recent years or will form phased net imports

  In August, the country exported 3.678 million tons of steel, a decrease of 11.9% from the previous month; imported steel was 2.24 million tons, a decrease of 14% from the previous month; net exports of steel were 1.438 million tons, a decrease of 8.41% from the previous month and a year-on-year decrease of 64.34%, which was the fifth consecutive month of decline. The lowest level in recent years.

  From January to August, the cumulative export of steel products was 36.557 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 18.6%; the cumulative import of steel products was 12.189 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 59.6%.

From January to August, 11.37 million tons of steel billets were imported, an increase of 1030.76% over the same period last year.

  “Due to the higher-than-expected demand for steel, China became a net importer of steel again in June this year.” He Wenbo said that in the first eight months, due to the epidemic, there was a huge gap in domestic and foreign market demand and a significant drop in steel product prices. There has been a recent overall decline in steel exports. , The rapid rise of imports, mainly steel billets, will form a phased net import of crude steel in China.

  He also pointed out that in August, steel imports fell and prices rebounded, indicating that overseas demand has recovered.

my country's steel imports will further decrease, and steel exports will pick up steadily, but imports of resource products will remain at a relatively high level.

  The overall efficiency declines and the ability to sustain development needs to be enhanced

  Data shows that the volume of imported iron ore has decreased and prices have risen, other raw materials and fuels have been mixed, and procurement costs have continued to rise; total profits have rebounded slightly, and sales margins have continued to decline.

  At the end of August, the composite steel price index was 105.74 points, an increase of 1.22 points or 1.17% from the end of July.

The price index at the end of August was 0.95% higher than the same period, and this year it rose for the first time year-on-year.

From January to August, the sales revenue of key steel companies was 2,896,108 billion yuan, an increase of 5.78% year-on-year; the total profit was 109.644 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.64%, which was 9.96 percentage points lower than the previous month.

  He Wenbo analyzed that since the outbreak of the epidemic, although the overall efficiency of the industry has declined, in the past three months, industry profits have exceeded the same period last year, and the debt structure has been further optimized, and financial expenses have fallen year-on-year.

At the same time, the industry still faces the risks of resource constraints, environmental constraints, and global economic and market turbulence.

  He suggested that iron and steel enterprises should actively adapt to the market, rationally regulate production, optimize product structure, and fully meet the new demands generated under the new development pattern; carry out in-depth work on benchmarking, tapping potential, reducing costs and increasing efficiency, effectively digesting the unfavorable factors of rising costs, and maintaining relatively High level of profitability; solidly promote ultra-low emissions and smart manufacturing to enhance the company's sustainable development capabilities.