The steel industry has achieved steady and high-quality development, and the market circulation pattern has continued to optimize.

Entering 2025, the domestic steel industry steadily promoted industrial upgrading, and the overall steel market operation tended to be stable. The industry steadily moved towards green, low-carbon, high-efficiency, energy-saving, and high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a steady recovery in the macroeconomy, the orderly implementation of infrastructure projects, and the continued warming of the real economy, the supply and demand relationship in the steel market continued to adjust, the industry's resilience continued to strengthen, and the overall market showed a good development trend of steady progress.

From the perspective of the overall market situation, the steel market price trend this year was generally stable, with alternating periods of rise and fall, without any significant surges or plunges. At the beginning of the year, the market was in the traditional off-season for demand, downstream procurement slowed down, market transactions were generally weak, and steel prices remained at a low level. As the weather warmed up, construction projects started in various regions, infrastructure, livelihood projects, and urban renewal projects were successively promoted, and end-user demand gradually increased, driving a steady recovery in the steel market and a significant increase in market activity.

Entering the middle of the year, many areas experienced rainy weather, which affected the progress of outdoor construction to some extent. The demand for construction steel slowed down, market transactions declined accordingly, and prices experienced a brief and slight correction. Meanwhile, steel demand in the industrial manufacturing sector maintained stable growth. Industries such as construction machinery, general equipment, hardware products, and pipe fittings saw stable production and sales, providing strong support for industrial steel products such as plates, profiles, and pipes. This effectively offset market pressure from weak demand in the construction materials sector, allowing the overall steel market to operate smoothly.

On the production and supply side, the industry strictly implemented environmental protection and staggered production requirements, continuously optimized production rhythms, strictly controlled the release of inefficient capacity, and constantly adjusted product production structures. Major producers increased the production ratio of high-end products such as high-quality special steel, high-strength construction materials, and corrosion-resistant industrial steel, gradually reducing the output of low-end ordinary steel, resulting in a more rational industry capacity layout. At the same time, enterprises continuously upgraded production processes, reduced energy consumption, and decreased pollutant emissions, fully implementing the concept of green production and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the entire steel industry.

Regarding inventory, steel inventories in major national trading markets remained within a reasonable range, showing an overall phased destocking trend. During periods of concentrated demand release, market inventories were rapidly depleted; during the off-season, inventories rebounded slightly, with overall inventory pressure remaining within a controllable range, and the market supply-demand balance continuously improving. Regional market development disparities persist. The central and western regions, driven by numerous infrastructure projects, continue to unleash their steel consumption potential, resulting in a more robust market performance. The eastern coastal regions, with their strong manufacturing base, enjoy smooth industrial material circulation and orderly market transactions.

The raw material market also remains stable. Fluctuations in upstream smelting raw material prices have narrowed, reducing production cost volatility and laying a solid foundation for stable steel market operations. The supply and demand in the raw material market are approaching equilibrium, and the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries is becoming increasingly evident, further stabilizing steel ex-factory prices and market circulation prices. Overall industry profitability is stabilizing, and business operating pressures are gradually easing.

Looking at industry development trends, by 2025, the steel industry will continue to accelerate its pace of capacity reduction, structural adjustment, and transformation, with the extensive development model completely exiting the mainstream market. Future market development will focus entirely on quality improvement and green development, relying on technological innovation to continuously develop new steel products to meet the material needs of emerging industries such as new energy, rail transportation, and high-end equipment. Simultaneously, the industry will continuously standardize market circulation, streamline production and sales channels, reduce intermediate circulation links, and ensure that steel resources reach end markets efficiently.

Overall, the domestic steel market in 2025, under the adjustment of multiple market factors, showed a more rational and mature operating trend. Although common problems such as periodic demand fluctuations and regional market differentiation still exist, the steel industry as a whole is on a positive development trend with ample market potential, thanks to the combined support of policy guidance, industrial upgrading, and steady recovery in demand. The industry is expected to achieve stable, healthy, and high-quality development throughout the year.