The seasonality of steelmaking in China

To track the performance of China's steel sector, we can analyze a stream of high-frequency data recently added to the CEIC platform.

Our first chart tracks measures of output for two aspects of the nation's steel industry. The purple line measures the operating rate for 87 independent electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills in China. In early 2023 and early 2024, we can see downturns reflecting the seasonal pattern in much of the Chinese economy: the effect of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The teal-coloured line measures the capacity utilization rate for China's independent makers of coke, an important raw ingredient in steel production. This shrank from about 75% to 65% in early 2024 before posting a recovery since May.

The following heat map for 2024 shows high-frequency indicators for the steel sector. From profit margins to production of liquid iron and finished steel, to inventories of iron ore and coke, most categories are posting some of their strongest 2024 figures in recent weeks.

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