China's steel industry is in its third consecutive year of decline in 2024, and there is little sign of a sustained recovery. Just as the overall demand of the industry has undergone structural changes during the downturn, the experiences of each steelmaker are also different. The overall downward trend cannot be reversed, but some companies are coping better than others. This growing differentiation could become ever more important as the industry enters an extended period of shrinkage and consolidation.

Chinese steel industry’s suffering continues
A series of challenges continued to put pressure on China's steel industry in the first three quarters of 2024. The industry's operating income has entered its third year of decline.

Over January-September this year, the industry’s revenue declined 6% from the same period last year to CNY 5.843 trillion ($823 billion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Meanwhile, operating costs fell to CNY 5.66 trillion, a decrease of 5.1%.

The year-on-year decline in cumulative revenue had narrowed in the second quarter from 4.2% to 3% due to the rebound in futures on a bullish macro-outlook. However, the price collapse driven by poor end user demand doubled the rate of decline to 6% now after three consecutive months of increases.

» Log-in or subscribe to read the full report.