Customs Data: Steel Exports Fell 8.5% Month-on-month in June, But Cumulative Exports For The First Half Of The Year Still Increased By 9.2%

July 14, 2025 - China Customs just released the latest trade numbers for June, and while steel exports cooled off a bit last month, the overall story for 2025 so far still shows steady growth. Here's a quick and simple breakdown of what's going on:

1. Steel Exports: Slowed Down in June, But Still Up for the Year

In June, China exported 9.68 million tons of steel - that's down 8.5% from May, a drop of about 900,000 tons. It's the first real dip after months of climbing. The reason? Likely a mix of weaker demand overseas and some price corrections in the global market.

But don't worry - when you zoom out, it's still looking good:
Jan–June total: 58.15 million tons, up 9.2% compared to the same time last year.
This proves that China's steel is still very competitive globally, even with all the current international headwinds.

2 . Steel Imports: Still Low, Showing Weak Domestic Demand

In June, China imported 470,000 tons of steel, basically flat, with a small 2.3% drop from May.

Looking at the bigger picture:
Jan–June total imports: 3.02 million tons, down a sharp 16.4% year-on-year.
This shows that demand at home - especially from construction and manufacturing - is still pretty sluggish.

3. Raw Materials: Iron Ore Up, Coal Down

Iron Ore:
China brought in 106 million tons of iron ore in June - that's up 8% from May. That could mean steel mills were either stocking up or ramping up production again.
But on the whole, Jan–June imports were down 3%, which shows cautious planning for the rest of the year.

Coal & Lignite:
June imports fell to 33 million tons, down 8.3% month-on-month.
Over six months, imports hit 222 million tons, down 11.1% from last year, in line with slower industrial and energy demand at home.