While global steel markets twist and turn, China's colossal furnaces have steadily forged a reality where over half the world's crude steel originates within its borders, fueling an industrial powerhouse that produced a staggering 1.2 billion tons of finished product in 2022 alone.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, China produced 1,013.4 million metric tons of crude steel, representing 53.9% of global output.
- China's crude steel production capacity reached 1.22 billion metric tons by end of 2022.
- In 2023 Q1, China's pig iron output was 217.16 million metric tons.
- China's apparent steel consumption was 1.019 billion metric tons in 2022.
- Steel demand in China for infrastructure grew 5.2% YoY in 2023.
- China's auto sector steel use was 45.6 million tons in 2022.
- China's steel imports were 11.2 million tons in 2022.
- Steel exports from China reached 91.1 million tons in 2022.
- In 2023, China exported 90.3 million metric tons of steel products.
- China's electric arc furnace (EAF) steel production ratio was 11.5% in 2022.
- Average energy intensity for steel production in China was 580 kgce/ton in 2022.
- Blast furnace utilization rate reached 92.3% in 2022.
- China's steel industry CO2 emissions totaled 2.1 billion tons in 2022.
- PM2.5 emissions from steel sector reduced 45% since 2015 to 2022.
- Ultra-low emission retrofits completed in 80% of capacity by 2022.
China dominates global steel production and demand while pursuing greener manufacturing.
Consumption and Demand
- China's apparent steel consumption was 1.019 billion metric tons in 2022.
- Steel demand in China for infrastructure grew 5.2% YoY in 2023.
- China's auto sector steel use was 45.6 million tons in 2022.
- Apparent steel use per capita in China was 719 kg in 2022.
- Construction sector accounted for 52% of China's steel demand in 2022.
- China's machinery steel consumption was 78.2 million tons in 2022.
- Shipbuilding steel demand reached 4.1 million tons in 2022.
- Household appliance steel use was 12.5 million tons in 2022.
- China's real estate steel consumption fell 12.3% in 2023.
- Total steel demand forecast for 2023 was 920 million tons.
- Electrical equipment steel use was 9.8 million tons in 2022.
- Container manufacturing steel demand was 2.3 million tons in 2022.
- China's steel intensity (kg per USD GDP) was 1.2 in 2022.
- Energy sector steel consumption was 15.4 million tons in 2022.
- Furniture steel use totaled 3.2 million tons in 2022.
- Bicycle manufacturing consumed 1.1 million tons of steel in 2022.
- Packaging steel demand was 4.7 million tons in 2022.
- China's steel exports met 80% of domestic demand surplus in 2023.
- Rail transport steel use was 2.9 million tons in 2022.
- Medical equipment steel consumption was 0.8 million tons in 2022.
- Steel demand from new energy vehicles rose 25% to 6.2 million tons in 2023.
- Aviation sector steel use was 0.4 million tons in 2022.
- Sports equipment steel demand totaled 0.6 million tons in 2022.
Consumption and Demand Interpretation
China's steel industry is a tale of two economies: while its traditional construction heart is stuttering with a 12.3% real estate drop, its modern industrial muscles—from roaring EVs to massive infrastructure projects—are flexing hard to keep the nation's prodigious 719 kg per capita appetite for metal on a steady, if slightly slimming, 2023 diet of 920 million tons.
Environmental and Sustainability
- China's steel industry CO2 emissions totaled 2.1 billion tons in 2022.
- PM2.5 emissions from steel sector reduced 45% since 2015 to 2022.
- Ultra-low emission retrofits completed in 80% of capacity by 2022.
- Water recycling rate reached 98% in major steel plants 2022.
- SO2 emissions cut to 120,000 tons from steel in 2022.
- NOx emissions from steelmaking dropped 40% to 250,000 tons in 2022.
- Carbon trading included 70 million tons steel capacity in 2023.
- Desulfurization efficiency averaged 99.2% in BF plants 2022.
- Steel slag utilization rate hit 65% or 180 million tons in 2022.
- Green steel production share was 10% of total output in 2022.
- Dust emissions reduced to 15 kg/ton steel in 2022.
- 50 million tons capacity relocated from Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei by 2022.
- Biofuel trials replaced 5% coke in two plants 2023.
- COD emissions from steel cut 55% to 20,000 tons in 2022.
- Afforestation covered 1.2 million mu around steel bases 2022.
- CCS pilot captured 1.5 million tons CO2 from steel in 2022.
- Denitrification rate 95% in 90% of sintering machines 2022.
- Waste heat recovery utilized 40% of thermal energy in 2022.
- Mercury emissions controlled below 0.5 tons annually from steel 2022.
- Eco-steel certification issued to 300 million tons capacity 2023.
- Land remediation restored 50,000 hectares post-steel relocation 2022.
- VOC emissions reduced 30% to 8,000 tons in coating lines 2022.
- Green hydrogen used in 2 DRI plants producing 0.5 million tons 2023.
- Ammonia emissions from steel dropped to 12,000 tons in 2022.
- 100% of top 100 mills achieved ultra-low emissions by 2023.
- Fluoride emissions controlled at 1,200 tons from steel in 2022.
Environmental and Sustainability Interpretation
The statistics reveal China's steel industry is wrestling its own enormous, carbon-spewing shadow into submission, wielding technological might to forge a paradoxically greener titan from a mountain of sobering emissions data.
Production and Capacity
- In 2022, China produced 1,013.4 million metric tons of crude steel, representing 53.9% of global output.
- China's crude steel production capacity reached 1.22 billion metric tons by end of 2022.
- In 2023 Q1, China's pig iron output was 217.16 million metric tons.
- China accounted for 54% of world crude steel production in 2021 at 1.032 billion tons.
- Hebei province produced 199.2 million tons of crude steel in 2022, leading all provinces.
- China's steel production in December 2023 was 91.37 million metric tons.
- Total steelmaking capacity under construction in China was 104 million tons as of 2022.
- Jiangsu province's crude steel output hit 162.5 million tons in 2022.
- China's finished steel output reached 1.2 billion tons in 2022.
- Shandong province produced 140.8 million tons of crude steel in 2022.
- China's hot-rolled coil production was 142.3 million tons in 2022.
- Liaoning province's steel output was 52.6 million tons in 2022.
- China's wire rod production totaled 132.4 million tons in 2022.
- Guangdong province produced 51.2 million tons of crude steel in 2022.
- China's cold-rolled sheet production was 45.7 million tons in 2022.
- Shanxi province's crude steel output was 81.4 million tons in 2022.
- China's crude steel output in January 2024 was 79.06 million tons.
- Inner Mongolia produced 62.3 million tons of steel in 2022.
- China's medium plate production reached 55.2 million tons in 2022.
- Jilin province's steel production was 22.1 million tons in 2022.
- China's steel billet production was 128.9 million tons in 2022.
- Tianjin produced 15.4 million tons of crude steel in 2022.
- China's heavy plate output was 32.6 million tons in 2022.
- Hubei province produced 43.7 million tons in 2022.
- China's galvanized sheet production hit 52.1 million tons in 2022.
- Chongqing's steel output was 28.5 million tons in 2022.
- China's seamless pipe production was 12.3 million tons in 2022.
- Guangxi produced 18.9 million tons of steel in 2022.
- China's welded pipe output totaled 45.6 million tons in 2022.
- Yunnan province's crude steel was 12.7 million tons in 2022.
Production and Capacity Interpretation
China is single-handedly building the world's second world, one mind-bogglingly massive ton of steel at a time.
Technology and Efficiency
- China's electric arc furnace (EAF) steel production ratio was 11.5% in 2022.
- Average energy intensity for steel production in China was 580 kgce/ton in 2022.
- Blast furnace utilization rate reached 92.3% in 2022.
- China installed 150 new EAF capacities totaling 25 million tons by 2023.
- Scrap steel use in steelmaking hit 240 million tons in 2022.
- Hydrogen reduction pilot projects reduced CO2 by 20% in trials 2023.
- Digitalization covered 85% of large steel mills by 2022.
- BOF tapping time averaged 35 minutes per heat in top mills 2022.
- China led in green steel patents with 1,200 filings in 2022.
- EAF scrap ratio increased to 25% in coastal regions 2023.
- AI optimization in rolling mills improved yield by 2.5% in 2022.
- CC tundish technology adoption reached 98% in 2022.
- Specific water consumption dropped to 2.8 m3/ton steel in 2022.
- 5G-enabled smart factories in 120 steel plants by 2023.
- Ladle refining coverage was 95% for crude steel in 2022.
- Direct reduced iron (DRI) capacity expanded to 5 million tons in 2022.
- Hot charging ratio in rolling exceeded 45% in 2022.
- Automation rate in top 10 mills hit 85% in 2023.
- Plasma smelting pilots processed 10,000 tons scrap daily 2023.
- Yield rate improved to 92.1% from BF-BOF in 2022.
- CC slab thickness reduced to 180mm average in 2022.
- IoT sensors in 70% of furnaces for real-time monitoring 2022.
- Electrolytic cleaning line speed up 15% to 250m/min 2023.
- Big data analytics cut downtime by 18% in key plants 2022.
- Ultrafine grain steel tech yield up 30% in auto grades 2023.
Technology and Efficiency Interpretation
Despite leading the world in green steel patents and deploying armies of sensors and algorithms, China's steel industry remains a roaring, coal-dependent giant, with electric arc furnaces still a niche player and its most impressive efficiency gains serving to make its colossal blast furnace operations even more formidable.
Trade
- China's steel imports were 11.2 million tons in 2022.
- Steel exports from China reached 91.1 million tons in 2022.
- In 2023, China exported 90.3 million metric tons of steel products.
- Top export destination Vietnam received 8.5 million tons from China in 2022.
- China's HRC exports were 25.4 million tons in 2022.
- Steel imports grew 28% YoY to 10.1 million tons in Q1 2024.
- Exports to ASEAN countries totaled 22.7 million tons in 2022.
- China's rebar exports hit 16.2 million tons in 2022.
- India imported 2.1 million tons of steel from China in 2022.
- Wire rod exports were 12.8 million tons in 2022.
- South Korea imported 4.3 million tons from China in 2022.
- China's slab exports reached 3.5 million tons in 2022.
- EU imposed tariffs on Chinese steel imports averaging 20% in 2023.
- Hot-rolled sheet exports were 18.9 million tons in 2022.
- Philippines received 3.2 million tons of Chinese steel in 2022.
- China's steel export value was USD 72.5 billion in 2022.
- Cold-rolled exports totaled 9.7 million tons in 2022.
- US steel imports from China dropped to 0.9 million tons in 2022 due to tariffs.
- Galvanized exports were 14.1 million tons in 2022.
- Thailand imported 2.8 million tons from China in 2022.
- China's billet imports were 2.4 million tons in 2022.
- Pipe exports reached 7.6 million tons in 2022.
- Indonesia received 4.1 million tons of Chinese steel in 2022.
- Average export price for HRC was USD 650/ton in 2023.
- Section steel exports were 11.2 million tons in 2022.
- UAE imported 1.7 million tons from China in 2022.
- China's net steel exporter status yielded 80 million tons surplus in 2022.
- Steel coil exports to Middle East totaled 5.3 million tons in 2022.
Trade Interpretation
While China imports a modest appetizer of steel, it serves a global feast of exports, amassing an 80-million-ton surplus that proves it's not just making steel, but making markets.
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