Cisa member mills cut finished steel production by 9% in early August

Members of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) cut their crude steel, finished steel and hot metal production rates in the first 10 days of August compared with the preceding 11 days, according to data published by the association on Friday August 13.

August 1-10 output
Crude steel: 2.04 million tonnes per day, down 2.97%
Finished steel: 1.92 million tonnes per day, down 9.46%
Hot metal: 1.83 million tonnes per day, down 2.66%

Mill finished steel inventories
14.62 million tonnes, up by 808,400 tonnes (5.85%)

Spot market inventories
Hot-rolled coil: 1.92 million tonnes, up 10,000 tonnes (0.5%)
Cold-rolled coil: 1.11 million tonnes, up 10,000 tonnes (0.9%)
Plate: 1.04 million tonnes, down 20,000 tonnes (1.9%)
Wire rod: 1.88 million tonnes, down 50,000 tonnes (2.6%)
Rebar: 5.96 million tonnes, down 70,000 tonnes (1.2%)

Total (all five major products):
11.91 million tonnes, down 120,000 tonnes (1.0%)

Cisa mill output data for the preceding 11 days can be found here.

What to read next
Technological advances, policy support and downstream decarbonization efforts are accelerating the shift toward lower-emission ferro-alloys in China. The industry, however, continues to grapple with the challenge of securing price premiums for green materials despite significant investments in new smelting technologies and sustainable supply chains.
Fastmarkets launched three new rare earth prices on Thursday March 19 to cover the global market outside of China to improve transparency in the rare earths magnet supply chain.
The global tungsten market in 2026 is marked by extreme volatility driven by geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and resource nationalism, especially between China and the US. These dynamics have caused significant supply disruptions and price surges across tungsten products.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ AG-PLM-0019 Refined bleached deodorised (RBD) palm olein assessment for March 16 was delayed due to a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
The outbreak of conflict between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28 has brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, disrupting China’s steel exports to a region that accounted for 14% of its total finished steel export volume in 2025.