Price Trend: Cost-driven Stabilization and High-end Price Gap Emerge
In 2024, the black annealed wire market saw a moderate price increase, with the average ex-factory price reaching 4,280 yuan per ton, up by 4.6% compared to 2023. The main reason was the 4.2% year-on-year increase in the price of low-carbon steel wire rods to 4,200 yuan per ton, coupled with the rising costs of environmental protection equipment upgrades. Entering 2025, affected by the decline in steel prices, the price slightly dropped to 4,200 yuan per ton. However, the market differentiation was significant: the high-end specification of Φ4.0mm, due to its greater processing difficulty, had an average price of 4,460 yuan per ton, 4.2% higher than the mainstream Φ5.5mm product. Industry insiders predict that the annual increase will be controlled within 3.5%, and the supply and demand relationship will remain stable. Please provide the text you would like translated.
Industry landscape: Head concentration and significant regional clusters
The industry concentration continues to rise. By 2024, the combined market share of the top five enterprises will reach 42.8%, with leading companies such as Hebei Iron and Steel and Jiangsu Shagang all having sales exceeding 1.5 billion yuan. The distribution of production capacity shows distinct regional characteristics, with Hebei leading with a 41.3% share of output, followed closely by Shandong and Jiangsu. These three provinces contribute nearly 80% of the national capacity, forming industrial clusters centered around steel bases. The reliance on imports is relatively low, with an annual import volume of approximately 15,000 tons, mainly from Japan and South Korea, used in high-end manufacturing fields. Exports are focused on Southeast Asia and Africa, and it is expected that the export volume will increase to 992,000 tons by 2025. Please provide the text you would like translated.
Technology Upgrade: Dual Drive of Environmental Protection and Intelligence
Environmental protection policies have become a key driver for industry transformation. By the end of 2023, 67% of small and medium-sized enterprises had completed the transformation of coal-fired furnaces and kilns, switching to natural gas or electric heating equipment, reducing unit energy consumption by 12.7% compared to 2020. At the process level, the penetration rate of automated continuous annealing furnaces exceeded 40%. By precisely controlling the annealing temperature between 600-750°C and the oxidizing atmosphere, a dense and uniform iron oxide film layer was ensured, enhancing the product's ductility and dimensional stability. After the implementation of the GB/T 34567-2023 standard, online quality inspection systems have become standard equipment for leading enterprises, driving the proportion of high-value-added products to increase to 41%. Please provide the text you would like translated.
Demand Transformation: Emerging Fields Open Up New Growth Poles
The traditional construction sector remains dominant (accounting for 58.2% of demand in 2024), with 20# and 21# specifications making up over 70% of on-site usage due to their suitability for steel bar binding. Meanwhile, emerging markets such as new energy vehicles are on the rise. BYD has already adopted domestic high-strength annealed wire in the suspension systems of its electric vehicle models, driving the growth in demand for ultra-high-strength products. It is projected that the industry's market size will reach 41.28 billion yuan by 2025, with the share of the mechanical manufacturing sector increasing from 21% to 23%, making it the second-largest application area after construction. Please provide the text you would like translated.