The operation of the steel industry in China from January to March 2021

The operation of the steel industry in China from January to March 2021
1. Iron and steel output has grown rapidly. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the national output of pig iron, crude steel, and steel from January to March was 22.09 million tons, 271.04 million tons, and 329.4 million tons, respectively, up 8.0%, 15.6%, and 22.5% year-on-year.

2. The import and export of steel products increased significantly. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to March, a total of 17.68 million tons of steel was exported nationwide, an increase of 23.8% year-on-year; a total of 3.72 million tons of steel was imported, an increase of 17.0% year-on-year.

3. Steel prices continue to rise. According to the monitoring of the China Iron and Steel Association, at the end of March, China's steel composite price index was 136.28 points, an increase of 4.92 points from the end of February, an increase of 3.75%; a year-on-year increase of 37.07 points, an increase of 37.4%.

4. The efficiency of the enterprise has risen substantially. From January to March, the key statistics of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association realized operating income of steel enterprises of 154.172 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.3%; realized profits and taxes of 100.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 159.9%; realized profits of 77.39 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 247.4%; sales profit margin 4.8 %, an increase of 2.7 percentage points over the same period last year.

5. Steel stocks declined slightly. In late March, the China Iron and Steel Industry Association’s key statistics of steel enterprises’ steel inventory was 14.71 million tons, a decrease of 1.7 million tons or 10.4% from the end of last month; an increase of 3.09 million tons or 26.6% from the beginning of the year; a decrease of 3.36 million tons from the same period last year. A decrease of 18.6%.