On May 28th, the fourth session of the eighth membership conference of the China Steel Structure Association's Steel Pipe Branch was held at the Haihe Hall in Tianjin Saixiang Hotel. Over 140 member enterprises from across the country participated in the event. Shen Genrong, President of the Shanghai Steel Tube Industry Association and Vice Chairman of the Steel Pipe Branch, attended the conference, sitting in the front row, accompanied by Deputy Secretary-General Lu Zhikui.
Liu Yi, Executive Vice President of the China Steel Structure Association, delivered the opening remarks. Zheng Guiying, Chairman of the Steel Pipe Branch, presented a work report titled "Production Control, Self-discipline to Improve Quality, and Further Deepening High-Quality Development of the Steel Pipe Industry." The report highlighted key statistics for the steel pipe industry in 2024: China's steel pipe production was 90.407 million tons, a decrease of 9.82% year-on-year, with an apparent consumption of 79.6168 million tons, down 8.82% year-on-year. Steel pipes accounted for 56.7% of the global total, representing about 7% of China's total steel production. Among this, seamless pipe production was 29.90 million tons (estimated), a decrease of 5.08% year-on-year, and apparent consumption was 24.338 million tons, down 6.28% year-on-year. Welded pipe production reached 60.507 million tons, down 7.9%, with apparent consumption at 55.2788 million tons, declining by 9.9%.
In 2024, the total export of steel pipes was 11.0089 million tons, an increase of 9.8% and a new historical high. This included 5.6793 million tons of seamless pipes, a slight decline of 0.71%, and 5.3296 million tons of welded pipes, marking a significant increase of 20.18%. According to customs data, the average export price of steel pipes in 2024 was $1,084 per ton, a decrease of 18.59%; the average export price for seamless pipes was $1,264 per ton, down 12.93%; and for welded pipes, it was $891 per ton, down 24.31%. The trend of declining export prices continued from 2022 and 2023.
Based on this data, Zheng Guiying noted that in 2024, the industry faced a "three highs and three lows" situation: low demand, high production capacity, high costs, high exports, low prices, and low benefits. Firstly, demand from certain downstream industries was significantly below expectations, with real estate and infrastructure projects continuing their downward trend. Although there was a rebound after October, it could not offset previous reductions. Secondly, due to long-term supply-demand imbalances, steel pipe prices remained low. Despite a significant rebound in mid-to-late October, prices continued to decline afterward. Thirdly, the export prices of steel pipes saw a substantial decline of 18.6%, with seamless pipes down 12.93% and welded pipes plummeting 24.31%.
Despite these challenges, member companies excelled in production management, product and technical innovation, quality improvement and standards development, green development and energy conservation, digital and smart transformation, and new projects and technological upgrades.
The main tasks for the Steel Pipe Branch in 2025 include supporting the China Iron and Steel Association's "crude steel production control" policies, enhancing industry self-discipline with principles like "three determinations and three don'ts," pursuing regional, variety, and export self-discipline to establish a new dynamic balance of supply and demand, continuing industry analysis and data reporting to guide development and operations, encouraging small and medium enterprises to evolve toward "specialized and innovative" paths, conducting in-depth benchmarking to tap potential, and advancing digital transformation in the steel pipe industry.
Vice President and Secretary-General Zhang Junpeng reported on the 2024 Secretariat's work and the main activities planned for 2025. He announced a work meeting of the Board of Directors in Changshu, Jiangsu, in December to discuss plans for organizational restructuring.
Following the membership conference, all attendees participated in the "2025 (Second) Daqiu Zhuang Forum" themed "Empowering the Steel Pipe Industry Chain with New Quality Productivity," organized by the Metallurgical Industry Information Standard Research Institute and hosted by World Metal Digest, Lange Steel Network, and Tianjin Youfa Steel Pipe Group Co., Ltd. Vice President Chen Junde and Deputy Secretary-General Lu Zhikui also attended this meeting.
On the afternoon of May 27th, President Shen Genrong attended the 2025 Board Meeting of the Steel Pipe Branch. The meeting discussed and approved the agenda for the fourth session of the eighth membership conference and the two work reports from the Chairman and Secretary-General. It also approved resolutions on "Approving New Members" and "Cleaning Up Relevant Member Units" through a show of hands. Deputy Secretary-General Lu Zhikui accompanied the proceedings.
The discussions at these meetings emphasized the importance of adapting to shifting market conditions, optimizing internal operations, and boosting the innovation capacity of member enterprises. With a focus on strategic planning and reinforcing collaborative networks, the Steel Pipe Branch aims to navigate the challenges and leverage opportunities in 2025 to drive sustainable industry development.
|
|
