According to SMM research, most galvanising enterprises resumed production between the tenth day (February 26) and the sixteenth day (March 4) of the first lunar month. Small and medium-sized enterprises generally resumed operations after the Lantern Festival (March 2), with an average holiday duration of around 21 days.

[Galvanising enterprise WoW fewer resumed work, operating rates fell from pre-holiday]: Galvanising industry operating rate was 6.84% this week, down 6.2 percentage points WoW from pre-holiday. Raw material side, zinc prices mainly fluctuated this week, but most downstream were still on holiday and had not resumed work, transportation was gradually recovering, enterprises mainly consumed inventory, galvanising enterprise zinc ingot inventory slightly decreased.

After the Chinese New Year holiday, premiums in Tianjin remained at a discount throughout February. How will premiums and discounts move going forward?

During the week, the zinc ingot market in Guangdong underwent a contract rollover, with spot quotations officially switching from the 2603 contract to the 2604 contract. Against the backdrop of the SHFE zinc market maintaining a Contango structure, spot premiums and discounts for zinc ingots in Guangdong continued their downward trend after the rollover, further declining from -80 yuan/mt before the rollover to -125 yuan/mt today, highlighting persistent short-term downward pressure.

[Galvanising enterprises mostly on holiday, operating rates drop significantly]: This week, the operating rate of the galvanizing industry was 16.25%, down 22.35 percentage points WoW. From the raw material side, zinc prices mainly fluctuated this week, but most downstream enterprises were on holiday, with pricing being the main activity and fewer cargo pick-ups. However, large plants had basically received long-term contract goods by the beginning of the week, and zinc ingot inventories at galvanising enterprises increased slightly.

[SMM Analysis] Holiday Stability in Overseas Prices, Divergent Trading Performance HRC prices in Thailand and Malaysia mostly held steady. As the holidays largely coincided with those in the domestic market and shipments were affected by the Chinese New Year, overall transaction activity remained relatively weak. The galvanizing market in Thailand performed moderately, but due to low-priced resources capturing market share, downstream shipments were somewhat impacted, leaving limited room for price increases. Influenced by factors such as Ramadan, HRC trading in Indonesia also trended toward mediocrity, while overseas export offers remained stable amid a wait-and-see stance. However, supported by government policies promoting increased use of domestically produced steel in the local shipbuilding industry, medium and long-term demand for sheets & plates in Indonesia is expected to remain relatively optimistic.The Black Sea market recently exhibited overall calm, with FOB offers for HRC exports pulling back slightly compared to pre-holiday levels. Although some routine transactions were concluded, overall market activity remained sluggish. Despite tight spot supply in the domestic Indian HRC market, it remains range-bound due to weak overall procurement demand, lacking momentum for price increases. Turkish HRC export offers have seen slight increases, following the price hike trend among European producers. European and US markets face strong policy and cost disruptions: although the US Supreme Court overturned some previously imposed tariffs by the president, the subsequent announcement of new global tariffs of up to 15% has sharply heightened market risk aversion. In European markets such as Italy, steel mills are leading ex-factory price increases against a backdrop of tight spot supply. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

【SMM Steel】Cleveland-Cliffs said it can meet rising auto steel demand without new mills, using existing galvanizing/coating lines. It's substituting steel for aluminum using current aluminum forming gear, winning mass orders with no new tooling costs. Tighter Canadian import curbs help its Stelco unit. It's in talks with Posco on a strategic deal, targeting H1 2026. It also sees higher utilization and better pricing as markets recover.

[Galvanising Enterprise Holidays Increase, Operating Rates Drop Significantly]: This week, the operating rate in the galvanizing industry was 38.60%, down 7.49 percentage points WoW. Raw material side, zinc prices pulled back slightly this week, but most downstream producers were on holiday, with only a small amount of spot pricing and cargo pick-up. Large plants gradually received long-term contract shipments, and zinc ingot inventories at galvanizing enterprises increased.

Some export orders increased, and the operating rates of galvanising producers rose. This week, the operating rate of galvanising producers reached 64.34%, up 0.6 percentage points WoW. In terms of raw material inventory, zinc prices continued to pull back this week, but downstream sentiment remained bearish, with restocking or inventory consumption driven by rigid demand, leading to a slight drop in zinc ingot inventory.

【SMM News】The overall operating rate of galvanizing increased in Q1, but the performance varied across east China, north China, and south China. The operating rate in north China rebounded rapidly in Q1. The region mainly produces galvanized pipes, and infrastructure projects resumed normal operations in March. However, galvanized pipe traders did not stockpile heavily before the new year due to concerns over tariffs. After the new year, ferrous metals prices stabilized due to production cuts by steel mills, and traders maintained a good pace of restocking.