During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the scrap steel processing industry experienced rapid growth. The recycling and utilization industrial chain and processing and distribution systems gradually improved, with enhanced levels of green and intelligent operations. The capacity to secure scrap steel resources continued to strengthen, though challenges remain.

910 scrap steel processing enterprises met access criteria during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

The scrap steel industry achieved remarkable progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Over the first four years (2021–2024), China's total crude steel output reached 4.085 billion tons, averaging 1.021 billion tons annually—an increase of 95 million tons (10.3%) compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan average. Nationwide, 865 million tons of scrap steel were consumed in steelmaking, averaging 216 million tons annually. This represents an increase of 41 million tons compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period, marking a 23.6% growth rate. China's comprehensive scrap steel consumption per ton of crude steel reached 212 kilograms, an increase of 27 kilograms compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period, reflecting a 14.5% growth rate.

Processing and distribution systems have been largely established

By the end of October 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had released 12 batches of enterprises meeting access criteria. Currently, 910 announced enterprises are distributed across 29 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), with an annual processing capacity of 180 million tons and annual sales volume of approximately 110 million tons, accounting for about 60% of the total social scrap steel resources. An industrialized system for scrap steel processing and distribution has been fundamentally established.

Standard System Gradually Improved

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, building upon existing national and industry standards, the China Scrap Steel Application Association organized the development of group standards. It successively released the “Technical Specifications for Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection in Scrap Steel Processing Equipment,” “Calculation Methods for Processing Capacity of Scrap Steel Processing Equipment,” as well as group standards such as “Technical Requirements for Intelligent Scrap Steel Factories” (jointly released with the China Iron and Steel Association) and “Scrap Steel for Casting” (jointly released with the China Foundry Association). The standard system for the scrap steel industry is gradually being refined. The 2024 edition was approved and released on November 28, 2024, and will take effect on June 1, 2025.

Processing Equipment Achieves Enhanced Energy Efficiency and Environmental Performance

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, multiple processing equipment manufacturers continuously improved the market competitiveness of their products. Innovations included integrating air separation technology, intelligent control systems, and high-voltage variable frequency technology into shredding lines, resulting in reduced energy consumption per ton of steel. Portal shears adopted double-layer hoppers to boost operational efficiency, while balers implemented visual operation processes for enhanced traceability. Additionally, four technologies—large gantry hydraulic scrap shears, large scrap metal crushing production lines, key equipment for whole-vehicle recycling of end-of-life automobiles, and the 124SXS scrap crusher and sorting line—were included in the 2021 edition of the National Catalog of Advanced and Applicable Process Technologies and Equipment for Industrial Resource Comprehensive Utilization. Rebar shredding lines were added to the 2023 edition of the catalog.

Enhanced Intelligence Levels

Multiple enterprises have independently developed intelligent scrap steel inspection and grading systems, with some achieving unmanned grading. China's technology in this field leads globally and has been adopted by overseas steel mills and processing companies. Some enterprises have independently developed information management platforms to implement smart, visual, and transparent management of scrap steel collection, processing, logistics, and trading, ensuring transaction authenticity. Some scrap processing bases have established smart factories, achieving reduced or even unmanned operations in key processing stages, thereby enhancing the inherent safety and environmental standards of these facilities.

Significant Improvement in Industry Data Collection

Starting in July 2022, in accordance with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) requirements to comprehensively assess national scrap steel resources, the China Scrap Steel Application Association launched the “National Scrap Steel Resource Survey Initiative.”

Key Data Highlights

180 million tons

910 scrap steel processing enterprises meeting access criteria; annual processing capacity reaches 180 million tons, distributed across 29 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities).

865 million tons

National steel production consumed 865 million tons of scrap steel, averaging 216 million tons annually. This represents an increase of 41 million tons compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period average, marking a 23.6% growth.

212 kilograms/ton

The comprehensive scrap steel consumption per ton of steel produced was 212 kilograms, an increase of 27 kilograms compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period average, reflecting a 14.5% rise.

704 entities

As of October 31, 2025, the China Scrap Steel Application Association conducted pilot surveys across four locations: Changzhou (Jiangsu), Wuxi (Jiangsu), Zibo (Shandong), and Tangshan (Hebei). Participating processing enterprises and collection sites expanded from 40 to 704 entities, including 373 processing enterprises and 331 collection sites.

11.0367 million tons

The Scrap Steel Traceability Mini Program collected 104,271 scrap steel records, totaling 11.0367 million tons in weight.

As an integrated internet platform providing benchmark prices, on December 22nd, SunSirs' benchmark price for scrap steel was 2355.08 RMB/ton, an increase of 0.10% compared to the beginning of the month (2352.75 RMB/ton).

Application of SunSirs Benchmark Pricing：

Traders can price spot and contract transactions based on the pricing principle of agreed markup and pricing formula (Transaction price=SunSirs price + Markup).

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