China has unveiled a new action plan for the steel industry, which includes a set of measures to address the chronic problem of oversupply. This comes amid Beijing’s intensified efforts to end a series of price wars raging in the economy, writes the South China Morning Post.
The plan, which includes a strict ban on the commissioning of additional capacity and measures to accelerate the decommissioning of obsolete equipment, could serve as an example for other industries suffering from overproduction and excessive competition.
The document, published on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in conjunction with a number of other agencies, calls for strict control over steel production capacity and volumes. It stresses that “coordinated efforts on both the supply and demand sides” are needed to stabilize the industry.
The plan aims to “accelerate the transition from old to new growth drivers, develop new productive forces, and further enhance the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.” The steel industry should strive to increase added value by approximately 4% annually over the next two years and complete the modernization of more than 80% of steel production capacity to achieve ultra-low emissions by the end of this year.
Although Chinese steel companies account for more than half of global production, the average profitability of listed companies in 2024 was minus 0.26% due to structural problems in the industry, the report said.
According to CINDA Securities, 7.44 million tons of five major types of steel products were produced in the country in the first half of September, approximately 5.8% more than in the same period a year earlier. Steel inventories increased by 12.1% to 11.01 million tons, while consumption fell by approximately 4.6% to 8.5 million tons.
The composite steel price index is currently at 3,507 yuan ($493) per ton, which is approximately 2.6% higher than last year’s figure, but approximately 14% lower than in 2023.
In 2024, China reduced steel production by 1.7% to 1.005 billion tons.
In January-August of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of semi-finished carbon steel products in physical terms by 39.1% compared to the same period last year, to 795,769 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), in monetary terms, exports of carbon steel semi-finished products fell by 40.8% to $384.215 million.
The main exports were mainly to Bulgaria (39.36% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (16.42%), and Poland (14.38%).
During this period, Ukraine imported 46,604 thousand tons of semi-finished products worth $35.242 million, mainly from Oman (38.41%), Germany (26.24%), and the Czech Republic (18.61%), while in the first eight months of 2024, it imported 5 tons of semi-finished products worth $5 thousand.
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine increased its exports of semi-finished carbon steel products in physical terms by 56.7% compared to 2023, to 1 million 886,090 tons, while revenue in monetary terms increased by 52.4% to $927.554 million. The main exports were to Bulgaria (32.06% of supplies in monetary terms), Egypt (18.50%), and Turkey (11.14%).
In 2024, Ukraine imported 306 tons of semi-finished products worth $278 thousand from the Czech Republic (88.13%), Romania (7.19%), and Poland (2.88%), while in 2023, it imported 96 tons worth $172 thousand.
In July 2025, Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises produced 581,000 tons of steel (down 18.1% year-on-year and down 6.4% month-on-month), ranking 23rd in the Worldsteel rating of 70 countries. In January–July, production amounted to 4.263 million tons (–7% y/y), with Ukraine ranking 22nd for this period.
According to Worldsteel, India, the US, Turkey, and Iran showed growth in July compared to last year, while the other countries in the top 10 recorded a decline.
The World Steel Association is an international association of the steel industry, bringing together steel producers, national and regional industry associations, and research institutes; its members account for about 85% of global steel production. Its headquarters are in Brussels, and it has an office in Beijing. The organization was founded in 1967 as the International Iron and Steel Institute and was renamed in 2008. Worldsteel regularly publishes monthly production statistics and an annual reference book, World Steel in Figures.
In July 2025, global steel production amounted to 150.126 million tons, which is 1.3% less than in July 2024.
According to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel), the top ten countries are as follows:
China — 79.660 million tons (-4% y/y)
India — 14.000 million tons (+14%)
United States — 7.142 million tons (+4.8%)
Japan — 6.918 million tons (-2.5%)
Russia — 5.700 million tons (-2.4%)
South Korea — 5.256 million tons (-4.7%)
Turkey — 3.182 million tons (+4.2%)
Brazil — 2.930 million tons (-5.5%)
Germany — 2.719 million tons (-13.7%)
Iran — 2.235 million tons (+29.7%)