China Welded Pipe Production Up 14% In Jan-May

Welded pipe production in China increased to 10.6m tonnes during January-May this year, up by 14.7% year-on-year, according to the latest data from China Iron & Steel Association (CISA).

China produced 2.5m t of welded pipes in May, less than April’s 2.66m t but up 15.7% y-o-y. Steel Business Briefing notes that China’s welded pipe output has increased y-o-y for four successive months.

Industry watchers say that small diameter pipes for construction, including scaffold pipes, contributed most to the increase in May. Despite the fact that the domestic steel market is still weak, scaffold pipe demand in particular has been increasing since March as the weather has warmed and more construction projects have commenced.

However, mill sources say output of medium-diameter electric resistance welded (ERW) pipes fell significantly as overseas demand dropped. They say exports have declined since April as those in Q1 were mainly the fulfilment of orders received late last year.

One mill source says China has too many ERW pipe mills, making the market very competitive. More mills have entered the domestic market after watching export demand collapse because of the world financial crisis and rising trade barriers.

But a mill in northern China producing smaller-sized pipes says its sales are not bad as its low value-added pipes mainly used in construction can generate a small profit – or at least, not make a loss.

As SBB has reported, the China Tube & Pipe Association predicts that China’s welded pipe production may decline to 22-22.4m t this year, compared to 2008’s 23.8m t, with exports falling to 2m t in 2009, about half those of 2008.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Common
Source: Rusmet.ru