Iron and Steel Industry Faces Challenges Inside and Outside, Ansteel Records Nearly $1 Billion Loss in the Year.

Ansteel Co., Ltd. is a listed subsidiary of the second-largest steel manufacturer in China, which incurred nearly 1 billion US dollars in losses last year, highlighting the challenging situation in the Chinese steel industry amid shrinking demand and plummeting prices.

According to a report from Bloomberg on March 31, Ansteel stated in a document submitted to the stock exchange that its annual net losses more than doubled from 33 billion Chinese yuan in 2023 to 71 billion Chinese yuan (9.81 billion US dollars). With the real estate crisis dampening demand, Chinese steel manufacturers are struggling to cope with the sluggish demand.

Ansteel noted in the document submitted to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, “In 2024, the weak market conditions facing the steel industry further intensified.” The company mentioned that due to weak downstream demand, steel prices have fallen while iron ore prices remain elevated.

For most of 2024, the Chinese steel industry operated at a deficit, with soaring debts and a record number of loss-making enterprises. Industrial profits in the first two months of 2025 indicate a grim outlook as new growth areas fail to offset the subdued construction activities.

Despite this, Chinese steel mills continue to produce a large quantity of steel, maintaining an annual output of over 1 billion tons last year. Against the backdrop of this international environment, the Chinese steel industry faces a double whammy – domestic recession and foreign resistance. Chinese steelmakers, with excess capacity, had hoped to alleviate their plight through expanding exports but are encountering higher tariffs imposed by multiple countries, including the United States, on Chinese steel products.

President Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products, effective since March 12, has added to the growing export barriers faced by China’s vast steel industry.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Trump’s 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products is aimed at fulfilling campaign promises, preventing cheap products from China and other places (including those imported through third countries) from flooding into the United States.

The US believes that cheap Chinese steel is entering through Mexico, Vietnam, and other countries from third countries.

According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, China accounts for nearly half of the world’s steel production capacity. Chinese enterprises contribute more than 60% to new cross-border investments in steel production.

Countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, India, and the European Union have begun to restrict imports of Chinese steel products.