Downstream consumption of China's color-coated sheets and coils primarily centers on the construction sector. Affected by the sluggish real estate market, demand for construction-grade color-coated products remains weak. The industry exhibits steady capacity expansion coupled with fluctuating production declines, characterized by highly concentrated regional distribution and prominent overcapacity issues. China's color-coated sheet and coil industry maintains a high self-sufficiency rate, with export demand rapidly climbing since 2023. Looking ahead, Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), driven by policy and other factors, is expected to open new growth opportunities for the industry.
1. Construction Sector Dominates Consumption, While Real Estate Slump Weighs on Demand
Color-coated sheets and coils are composite materials featuring a metal substrate coated with organic layers. By forming a protective layer on the metal surface, they combine corrosion resistance with decorative appeal, finding widespread application in construction, home appliances, automobiles, transportation, and other sectors. The construction sector has long been the largest downstream market for China's color-coated products, accounting for approximately 80% of consumption in 2022.
However, in recent years, China's real estate sector has entered a period of deep adjustment, with multiple key indicators showing an overall downward trend. This has directly led to weak demand for color-coated steel coils in construction.
2. Dual Growth in Home Appliances and Automotive Sectors Further Expands Demand Potential for Color-Coated Steel Coils
Home appliances and automobiles are both significant application areas for color-coated steel coils. In the home appliance sector, color-coated sheets and coils are primarily used for manufacturing the outer shells and panels of products such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and color TVs. As the world's largest producer and consumer of home appliances, China saw retail sales across all home appliance categories (excluding 3C products) grow from 806.6 billion yuan in 2020 to 907.1 billion yuan in 2024, generating substantial incremental demand for the color-coated sheet and coil industry.
In the automotive sector, color-coated sheets and coils are widely adopted for vehicle exteriors and interior components due to their lightweight properties, aesthetic appeal, and corrosion resistance. Recent years have witnessed sustained growth in China's automotive production and sales, alongside advancing industry-wide lightweighting trends. Coupled with the rapid penetration of new energy vehicles, these multiple favorable factors have further expanded the market potential for color-coated sheets and coils.
3. Capacity Expansion but Output Decline: East and North China Dominate Industry Supply
In recent years, China's color-coated sheet and coil industry has exhibited a structural pattern of “continuous capacity expansion coupled with fluctuating output adjustments.” Notably, the sector faces significant overcapacity issues, with a capacity utilization rate of only 43.71% in 2024.
4. High Self-Sufficiency Rate and Rapid Export Growth
Leveraging advantages such as a comprehensive industrial chain layout, robust technological capabilities, and large-scale production capacity, China's color-coated sheet and coil industry maintains a high self-sufficiency rate. Beyond meeting domestic market demand, substantial volumes are exported overseas, making exports a key driver of industry growth. Data indicates that from January to July 2025, export volumes further increased to 5.5143 million tons, representing a year-on-year growth of 32.87%.
The rapid growth in exports of color-coated sheets and coils is primarily driven by the following factors: First, the competitiveness of domestic products continues to improve. Through technological upgrades, quality optimization, and cost-performance advantages, they have gained increasing recognition in overseas markets, providing solid support for export growth. Second, domestic overcapacity and intensified market competition have compelled local enterprises to proactively expand into overseas markets and actively explore international demand growth points. Finally, the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative has strengthened trade cooperation between China and participating countries. Most of these nations are in a phase of rapid economic development, accelerating infrastructure construction and industrialization, which has opened up vast market opportunities for China's color-coated sheet and coil exports.
5. Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Poised to Open New Market Opportunities for Color-Coated Sheets and Coils
Looking ahead, the rapid development of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is poised to carve out a significant new growth trajectory for the color-coated sheet and coil industry. BIPV integrates photovoltaic power generation components with building structures or envelope systems, achieving unified design for building power generation and energy conservation. As an effective solution to China's high building energy consumption, BIPV has become a crucial pathway for the construction sector to achieve its “dual carbon” goals. However, constrained by factors such as relatively high costs and an immature technological framework, China's BIPV industry remains in its early developmental stages, with widespread adoption still requiring time.
Since 2025, a series of favorable policies introduced at both national and local levels have injected robust momentum into industry growth. These initiatives promote the integrated development of building-integrated photovoltaics, drive the synchronized planning, design, and construction of photovoltaic systems with buildings, and advance low-carbon building applications.
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