Recently, the zinc-coated flat head steel screw industry has witnessed the convergence of multiple policy and market signals. The public announcement of the draft of the "Technical Specification for Mechanical Coating of Wood Screws and Self-Drilling and Self-Tapping Screws" has drawn widespread attention. Coupled with the fluctuation of zinc prices and the adjustment of downstream demand structure, the industry is accelerating its transformation towards standardization and greenization.
As basic components in fields such as construction and automobiles, the anti-corrosion performance and safety standards of zinc-coated flat head steel screws have always been highly valued. The technical specifications disclosed this time clearly stipulate the material requirements, thickness standards and inspection methods for mechanical galvanized coatings. It particularly emphasizes that the zinc powder must comply with the first-level standard of GB/T 6890. When the coating thickness is greater than 20μm, the particle size D50 of the zinc powder shall not exceed 6.5μm. In terms of environmental protection, regulations strictly prohibit the presence of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium in plating solutions, building a green defense line from the production source. This will accelerate the elimination of small and medium-sized workshop-style enterprises, and the industry concentration is expected to increase.
Fluctuations in raw material prices have become an important variable in enterprise production. In the first half of 2025, zinc prices showed a trend of "first decline and then stabilization". They dropped from $3,150 per ton at the beginning of the year to a year low of $2,562 per ton on April 9, and then gradually rebounded to $2,865 per ton in July. Currently, they are still fluctuating within the range of $2,600 to $2,800 per ton. Facing cost pressure, leading enterprises have digested the impact through large-scale procurement and technological optimization. The spot quotations of galvanized countersunk screws in Liaoning region have remained stable, and "good quality and low price" has become one of the core competitive advantages in the market.
Technological upgrades are reshaping the competitiveness of industries. The advanced methods mentioned in the standards, such as scanning electron microscopy thickness measurement and X-ray fluorescence component detection, have been widely applied in leading enterprises. They not only control the measurement error of coating thickness at the micrometer level but also achieve precise traceability of coating composition. The zinc-tin composite coating technology developed by some enterprises has increased the neutral salt spray test corrosion resistance time of screws by 30%, significantly expanding the application of products in high-end fields such as outdoor engineering and new energy equipment.
Industry insiders point out that with the official implementation of technical standards and the growth in demand in downstream fields such as new energy vehicles and green buildings, the zinc-coated flat head steel screw industry will enter a new stage of "quality improvement and efficiency enhancement". Enterprises need to focus on material upgrading, process innovation and quality control in order to take the initiative in the increasingly standardized market competition.