Feng Hsin Steel has obtained an occupancy permit for its new direct steel rebar processing plant near Taichung Port, with equipment installation complete. The facility plans to begin a two- to three-week trial run in early August before launching commercial operations. Initial processing capacity is designed at 8,000-10,000 tonnes per month, matching previous outsourced volumes, with plans to scale up to 13,000-15,000 tonnes monthly based on future orders. Having secured hundreds of thousands of tonnes in material-and-labor contracts during H1, the company intends to bring outsourced processing back in-house.

Rebar buyers in Taiwan have begun releasing orders, allowing domestic steel mills to secure notable volumes. Feng Hsin Steel reportedly captured 20,000 tonnes of orders, while a Kaohsiung-based steelmaker secured over 10,000 tonnes. Despite these bookings, manufacturers show no signs of suspending sales, as some distributors in southern Taiwan remain hesitant to enter the market. These volumes represent a limited release after ten weeks without major orders, offering only modest relief to high-capacity mills. Downstream purchasing patterns now reflect slower inventory depletion rather than pure financial considerations. Buyers have adopted a low-volume purchasing model, limiting acquisitions to quantities they can readily resell.

[Taiwan,China]Facing persistently weak market demand, Taiwan’s leading electric furnace steel mill, Feng Hsin Steel, officially announced on Monday (July 6) a reduction in its major finished steel and raw material purchase prices, in an attempt to stimulate market trading activity during a period of consolidation through price concessions. After the adjustment, the rebar price dropped to $606/mt, the steel scrap purchase price to $311/mt, and the structural steel price remained at $847/mt.

SMM News Flash: [Rebar] Rebar export FOB offers remained stable today. Market traders reported that inquiries were relatively mediocre and transactions remained weak, with strong wait-and-see sentiment among market participants. [Steel Billet] Billet export offers were in the doldrums today, quoted at 473-476 USD/tonne. Market feedback indicated that current trader offers were on the high side, while overseas billet export offers declined, weakening China's competitiveness and resulting in mediocre inquiries and poor transaction performance. [HRC] Sheet & plate export prices dropped1-2 USD/tonne day on day today, with HRC transaction prices at 496-50 USD/tonne. Market feedback showed that inspection rates at North China ports had increased recently, causing some unofficial quoted sources to shift to relatively less stringent ports for port departures, and corresponding price spreads narrowed. Regarding the de-escalation of US-Iran tensions, some export participants consulted today reported no notable increase in inquiries yet, and buyers may also be waiting to see subsequent risks.ently, there have been some new inquiries for medium and heavy plate in the Middle East, with a portion of them resulting in transactions. [India] A 0.40 INR/kWh industrial power tariff increase in Chhattisgarh, effective 1 Jul 2026, will raise induction furnace billet costs by ~3.17–3.80 USD/tonne and re-rolling (rebar/wire rod) costs by ~0.51–0.63 USD/tonne. Weak monsoon-season demand limits cost pass-through, with billet margins at risk of erosion by 2.64–3.69 USD/tonne. [SEA] Currently, construction project operating rates in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand are at a seasonal low, severely suppressing rigid demand for long steel products such as rebar and wire rod. End-user buying sentiment is weak, the pace of overall inventory destocking is slow, and local major mills' rebar EXW prices are at 520–535 USD/tonne. Meanwhile, with the release of information on US-Iran negotiations, news of the Strait of Hormuz unblocking has sparked expectations among Southeast Asian buyers of lower freight rates, creating a mindset of buying on dips and waiting on the sidelines. However, according to SMM's latest survey, even if the agreement can be signed smoothly on the 19th, the actual unblocking of the strait will still require a buffer period. Freight rates are expected to be difficult to lower in the short term and will mainly fluctuate at high levels. [Taiwan, China] This week, Feng Hsin, a leading long steel producer in Taiwan, kept its long steel prices stable, halting a three-week downward streak. Specifically, the rebar price stabilized at 583 USD/tonne EXW (approximately 18400 TWD/tonne), while the structural steel price held steady at 792 USD/tonne EXW (approximately 25000 TWD/tonne). This price stability indicates that mills are ready to accept new orders as the market gradually bottoms out.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's Feng Hsin Steel approved a 3.3 TWD cash dividend per share for 2025 at its May 27 shareholders' meeting. The company announced its new rebar processing plant will be completed in Q2 and open in Q3, creating an integrated process from manufacturing to cutting and shaping for direct delivery to downstream clients. Feng Hsin aims to expand its construction steel market share amid strong demand from public infrastructure and semiconductor plant construction. The company also utilizes hot direct rolling technology to lower costs and emissions.

【SMM Steel】Taiwanese long steel producer Feng Hsin Steel has successfully developed and launched 2-inch channel steel into the market. This product specification faced market gap after Kao Yung Steel's closure, with annual demand estimated at 500-600 tons, previously triggering short-term imports from China and Japan. Although Chinese and Japanese products are expected to enter the market in volume, local distributors note domestic advantages including product quality and immediate delivery without stockpiling requirements will enhance competitiveness.