The national average price of angle steel has hit a new low in nearly three years. Baotou Steel Union's diversified layout breaks through the price winter.
In March 2025, the national average price of equilateral 5 #angle steel fell to 3604.4 yuan/ton, down 14% from the same period in 2024 and a new low in the past three years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the price of angle steel has declined for two consecutive years since 2024, and the double weak supply and demand superimposed high inventory pressure has led to the continuous compression of industry profit margins . In the face of the cold winter of the market, Baotou Steel (Tianjin) Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. took the lead in launching the price lock mechanism, hedging risks through futures hedging, customized orders and diversified product portfolios (seamless steel pipes, I-beams, channels, etc.). In the first quarter of 2025, the export volume rose by 23.7% against the trend.
Supply and demand imbalance and cost pressure are forcing industry changes
In 2024, the total output of hot rolled section steel in the country decreased by 3.1% year-on-year, but the problem of inventory backlog has not eased. The capacity utilization rate of billet adjustment enterprises in traditional production areas such as Tangshan was once lower than 40%, the theoretical average profit of angle steel was only 10 yuan/ton, and some steel mills even lost yuan in immediate profits. By optimizing the product structure, Baotou Steel Co., Ltd. increased the proportion of high value-added I-beam (Q355B) and weathering channel steel (09CuPCrNi) exports to 35%. At the same time, the export volume of seamless steel pipes increased by 26.8% year-on-year. It was used in oil and gas pipeline projects in the Middle East to form a synergy effect of "angle steel + energy pipes"
Price locking mechanism becomes the key to breaking the game, manufacturers explore diversified paths
In response to price fluctuations, Baogang Steel launched a "futures price lock + spot direct supply" model to lock in the forward price of angle steel, round steel and other products to ensure that customers' procurement costs are controllable. Referring to the experience of the "open sales system" in the Japanese steel industry, it has established a "supply and demand price" docking mechanism with downstream enterprises to lock in the order volume \ months in advance. For example, its weathering steel angle steel supply to Vietnam's photovoltaic power plant project at a price lock of 3,600 yuan/ton, a premium of 8% over the cash market, driving a 15% increase in channel steel and I-beam combined orders.
Technological upgrading and green manufacturing build competitive barriers
In the downward price cycle, Baotou Steel accelerated the deployment of zero-carbon electric arc furnace technology, reducing the carbon footprint of Q355B angle steel to 1.8tCO ²/t, and obtained the European Union EPD certification. Its self-developed numerical control angle steel production line has a processing accuracy of ± 0.02mm, and the supporting exported precision round steel (20CrMnTi) is used in the manufacture of automotive gears in South East Asia, and the profit margin is increased by 20% compared with traditional products. In addition, the company's seamless steel pipe adopts a controlled rolling and controlled cooling process, and the yield strength is increased to 460MPa, making it the main supplier of high-pressure water injection pipelines in Bohai Oilfield.
Regional market differentiation, "Belt and Road Initiative" orders account for more than 60%
South East Asia and the Middle East have become the growth engine of angle steel exports. From January to March 2025, Baotou Steel Union supplied 50,000 tons of zero-carbon angle steel to the Dasu Hydropower Station in Pakistan, and the matching I-beam and channel steel combined package accounted for 40% of the steel used in the project . During the same period, its seamless steel pipes won the bidding volume of the Central Asian natural gas pipeline project exceeded 200,000 tons, and H-beams accounted for more than 30% of the Hungary-Serbia railway project. The "Belt and Road Initiative" order accounted for 65% of the company's total steel exports, an increase of 12 percentage points from 2024.
Industry Outlook: Policy and Technology Driven Structural Adjustment
Industry experts predict that the price of angle steel in 2025 may continue to fluctuate in a narrow range, with a comprehensive price hub in Shanghai and Hangzhou of about 3,700 yuan/ton and a fluctuation range of 3,200-4,200 yuan/ton.
Baotou Steel Co., Ltd. plans to invest 200 million yuan to build an intelligent storage center to realize the blockchain traceability of the whole process of angle steel, I-beam and other products, and deeply integrate with emerging fields such as photovoltaic brackets and hydrogen energy storage tanks. The general manager said: "In the future, we will rely on policy tools such as carbon emission quotas and environmental protection indicators to promote the differentiated competition between angle steel and high-end profiles and reshape the industry ecology."
