Price trend

According to the business data analysis system of SunSirs, the price of color coated sheets decreased slightly this month. On November 1st, the market price of color coated sheets was 6,516 RMB/ton; on November 28th, the price was 6,402 RMB/ton. The average price of color coated sheets this month decreased by 1.749% compared to the beginning of the month, and decreased by 3.759% compared to the same period last year.

Market Analysis

Galvanized sheet: The price of galvanized sheet experienced a slight decrease this month. On November 1st, the price was 4,192 RMB/ton, and on November 28th, it was 4,143 RMB/ton, a decrease of 1.168% compared to the beginning of the month and a decrease of 5.84% compared to the same period last year. Downstream demand in the coated steel market remained lukewarm, and market transactions were relatively weak.

In October 2025, China's total imports of coated steel plates (strips) amounted to 63,200 tons, a decrease of 25.36% month-on-month and a decrease of 21.50% year-on-year. From January to October, cumulative imports totaled 756,400 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 19.32%. According to data from the General Administration of Customs on November 7th, in October 2025, China exported 9.782 million tons of steel, a decrease of 683,000 tons compared to the previous month, a decrease of 6.5% month-on-month, with an export price of $684.4 per ton; from January to October, cumulative steel exports totaled 97.737 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. In October, China imported 503,000 tons of steel, a decrease of 45,000 tons compared to the previous month, a decrease of 8.2% month-on-month, with an import price of $1593.0 per ton; from January to October, cumulative steel imports totaled 5.041 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.9%. 

According to customs data, from January to October 2025, China's total exports of color coated sheets (coils) reached 7.885 million tons. This figure had surpassed pre-pandemic levels and represented a significant increase compared to the same period last year. Looking at the monthly trend, the growth was even more rapid–exports in March, April, May, July, and September all exceeded 800,000 tons, especially in September, which soared to 920,500 tons, setting a new record in recent years. While orders declined slightly in October, this was actually due to the surge in September consuming a significant portion of overseas orders, representing a normal inventory adjustment cycle. It's clear that Chinese color coated sheets were staging a remarkable comeback in the international market. There were two key driving forces behind this: firstly, the global recovery in infrastructure development, with emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America experiencing a construction boom, leading to strong demand for China's cost-effective color coated sheets; secondly, in the context of global inflation, the stable prices of Chinese products had made them highly attractive to many buyers.

Overall consumption of color coated sheets and coils is expected to decline in 2025. Based on production data for the first eleven months, output decreased by approximately 2.3% compared to 2024, and by approximately 10.7% compared to 2023. This indicated a gradual decline in production over the past three years. However, export data showed a better performance, with a year-on-year increase of approximately 22.2% in 2024 and approximately 23.7% in the first ten months of 2025.  Furthermore, the total export volume in the first ten months of this year has already exceeded the total for the entire year of 2024. The increase in exports coupled with the decrease in production suggested a decline in domestic demand.

Market Outlook

Specifically, in November, the market trend was stable but slightly weak. A temporary surge in futures prices led to an increase in spot prices and a brief improvement in sales, but this was not sustainable, and the market quickly returned to a sluggish state. In December, state-owned steel mills saw better order intake, especially for galvanized steel coils, with almost no supply being released to the market. Therefore, ordering costs are expected to remain high, and the price difference between state-owned and private mills will remain relatively large in the short term. Looking ahead, although national galvanized steel sheet and coil inventories had shown a slow downward trend recently, they were still higher than the same period last year, and some major markets still had room for inventory increases, especially in December. Therefore, the pressure on galvanized steel sheets and coils is excessive in the short term, and prices still have room for correction. It is expected that domestic galvanized and color coated steel and coil prices will continue to fluctuate and weaken next week.

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