This Week (March 13–March 19), the Operating Rate of Machinery in the Enamelled Wire Industry Rebounded 3.8 Percentage Points WoW to.....

[Market Participants Became More Rational in Sentiment, and Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices May Fluctuate Rangebound Next Week] In terms of transactions, the procurement pace of end-use industries such as downstream transformers and power equipment slowed down, and purchase willingness remained cautious, with procurement mainly consisting of small-volume, as-needed restocking orders, while large-volume purchasing activity was scarce, resulting in relatively low actual market trading activity. In addition, resources from steel mills’ earlier directed orders arrived successively, and traders’ circulating inventory accumulated steadily. Some merchants offered slight price concessions to accelerate turnover and boost shipments, but the overall room for concessions remained limited and failed to effectively lift transactions.

Middle East tensions have sparked a massive steel trade "mismatch." Iran's blocked exports created a 2.3-million-ton billet vacuum in Southeast Asia, while the Red Sea crisis stalled China's flat steel shipments to the Gulf. Consequently, China and India are rapidly absorbing SEA's diverted billet orders. SMM projects that blocked flat steel returning to China's domestic market, combined with surging overseas billet demand, will accelerate the narrowing of the domestic HRC-rebar spread.

[Market Sentiment Remained Primarily Cautious, Grain-Oriented Silicon Steel Prices Might Continue to Hold Steady Next Week] This week, grain-oriented silicon steel quotations were temporarily stable, with only limited recovery in transactions. HRC futures strengthened and then fluctuated this week, but Baowu's base prices for grain-oriented silicon steel in April remained stable, overall market sentiment stayed cautious, and procurement demand was unlikely to be released.

Zhongneng Xingong Power Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., located at No. 83 Handong Avenue, Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, Yangtze River New Area, Wuhan City, covers an area of 40 mu, with a factory and supporting facilities area of over 20,000 m². The initial investment in construction and equipment amounts to 150 million yuan. The company boasts a professional technical management team. Building on over two decades of experience in the silicon steel material processing industry, and leveraging Wuhan's advantageous geographical location and transportation network, as well as the advantages of the regional customer base, the company capitalizes on the resources and technological strengths of the Tsingshan base and the Central Research Institute of Baosteel. Based on its own strengths and the market development trends, the company adapts to the times by expanding its capacity and extending into deep processing, involving R&D and production of high and low voltage transformer cores. It is equipped with a batch of sophisticated and complete equipment, including 2 silicon steel slitting lines and 8 oriented silicon steel cross-cutting lines.

The transformer market is projected to reach US$28.27 billion in 2024, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.7% anticipated from 2024 to 2029. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, taking a 50MVA power transformer as an example, the procurement cycle has been extended from 11 months in the past to 18 months due to manufacturers' difficulties in coping with labor and material shortages. Leading overseas transformer manufacturers have long queues of orders on hand, with delivery cycles continually lengthening. With an overall low self-sufficiency rate, transformers are currently in a "seller's market.

On April 22, at the CCIE 2025 SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference & Copper Industry Expo - Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Industry Forum, Liang Dong, Chief Representative of the International Copper Association Beijing Office and Project Leader for Low-Carbon Drive / Senior Engineer, delivered a speech with the theme "Development Trends of Copper-Based Winding Materials in the Motor and Transformer Industry."

Recently, the environmental impact report for the 1,000 kV main transformer expansion project in Caozhou, Shandong, was made public before approval. The necessity of the project construction highlights the improvement of Shandong's power grid receiving capacity to meet the load development needs of southwestern Shandong. The Caozhou ultra-high voltage station primarily supplies power to the Jining and Heze areas in southwestern Shandong, with a total load of approximately 13,900 MW in 2023. With the continuous growth of industries such as high-end equipment, high-end chemicals, and biopharmaceuticals, the load in Jining and Heze is expected to maintain rapid growth, with the average annual growth rates of power load across the entire grid during the 14th Five-Year Plan period projected at 5.2% and 8.3%, respectively. By 2025, the total load is expected to reach 15,590 MW. Additionally, Jining and Heze are key areas for the shutdown and integration of coal-fired power units in Shandong Province. According to relevant documents from the Shandong Energy Bureau and the Jining Municipal Government, the total shutdown capacity of coal-fired power units in this region during the 14th Five-Year Plan period will reach approximately 3,000 MW.

On February 4, the main transformer expansion project of the 1000-kilovolt UHV substation in Nanchang has currently completed 40% of the total project volume, and both the equipment foundation pouring and the overhead framework hoisting operations are nearing completion. After the Spring Festival, equipment installation and commissioning work will be fully carried out to ensure the project is successfully completed and put into use in September this year. It is reported that this project is a key UHV main transformer project in Jiangxi Province's 14th Five-Year Plan. The construction scope includes adding one set of 3000 MVA main transformers, one set of 1000-kV switches, four sets of 500-kV switches, and four sets of low-voltage reactive power compensation devices, etc. The total project

Recently, Weidmann, the global leader in transformer insulation solutions, announced that it will build a new Transformerboard production plant in China, covering an area of 38,000 m², with completion expected in H2 2026. This investment brings the group's total global capacity investments over the past 12 months to more than $220 million.