The monthly average price of color-coated coils in October 2022 is US$880/ton, which is US$10/ton lower than the average price of US$890/ton in September. The price of color-coated coils rose slightly in October, and began to fall after mid-October. Overall demand is currently weak. In September, the export of coated strip was 400,000 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 20.62% and a year-on-year decrease of 17.58%. Judging from the situation of steel mills, the orders received by steel mills in the northern region are still not saturated, and the delivery time has also accelerated from 10 days to 5-6 days. WITOP STEEL GROUP will conduct a simple analysis of the market trend of color coated steel coil in November from the perspectives of production, inventory and profit.
1. Color coating production capacity utilization decreased first and then increased in October.
In October, the capacity utilization of color-coated coils first decreased and then increased, returning to 60%. The color-coated coil capacity utilization rate has been around 59% in the first three weeks of October, and returned to 60% in the last week. Judging from the capacity utilization rate, the current capacity utilization rate is at a low level in the past three years. Moreover, according to market feedback, the delivery speed of steel mills has been accelerated, from the original 10-day delivery time to 5-6 days. The accelerated delivery speed can also provide feedback on the overall order receiving situation of the current steel mills.
2. The inventory of color-coated coils continues to decline
As of the end of October, color-coated sheets and coils were 236,490 tons, and the total inventory of color-coated sheets and coils was 387,400 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 1,100 tons and a year-on-year decrease of 39,900 tons. The total inventory of color-coated coils continued to drop in October. From the overall inventory data, the current inventory is at a mid-to-high level in the same period. However, considering the decrease in demand after entering November, the pressure on inventories may further increase in the later period.
3. The profit of color-coated coil production enterprises is meager
Although the price of raw material HRC decreased in October, the settlement SPHC of HRC in October was US$560/ton, which was basically the same as last month. Judging from the production situation of steel mills, color-coated coils still have a certain profit, but they have also declined compared with previous years. However, in terms of varieties, color-coated coils are more profitable than galvanized steel and alu-zinc steel varieties.
4. The export of coated sheet and strip in September fell by more than 20% month-on-month
In September 2022, China exported 4.984 million tons of steel, a decrease of 1.169 million tons from the previous month, a month-on-month decrease of 19.0%, and the export of coated strips also decreased. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in September 2022, my country’s total exports of coated sheets (strips) totaled 400,000 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 20.62% and a year-on-year decrease of 17.58%. From January to September 2022, my country’s total exports of coated sheets (strips) totaled 4.2287 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 13.46%.
