The Chinese Cold Rolled Sheet (CRS) market moved through November under the influence of the traditional seasonal slowdown, with reduced procurement activity and a cautious buying environment across multiple end-use sectors. Unlike the coil market, where larger mill-level contract negotiations often drive sentiment, the steel sheet market is more directly shaped by retail and semi-retail trading patterns. Many distributors and sheet processing units kept purchases minimal to avoid building high steel inventories ahead of year-end tax assessments. As a result, CRS prices held a softer bias, with the potential for slight additional corrections as the final trading weeks of the year unfold.
Demand indicators for CRS were mixed across the manufacturing sector, with some stabilizing influence coming from automotive and white goods applications that rely heavily on precision-grade automotive sheet and durable cold-formed products. Still, major sheet-consuming industries maintained short purchase cycles, prioritizing immediate requirements rather than booking forward volumes. Fabricators, engineering workshops, and appliance manufacturers operated conservatively, citing uneven market signals and a broad preference to defer bulk buying until January. This conservative stance is also tied to expectations of slightly better economic visibility in the first quarter of 2026, when downstream operating rates typically improve.
On the supply side, availability of CRS remained adequate, though some mills hinted at adjusting output marginally based on order inflow. If mills implement even small production cuts, sheet supply could tighten temporarily, supporting a mild price rebound. Likewise, any forthcoming government incentives to boost industrial manufacturing or MSME activity could lift sheet consumption. Since CRS is crucial for panels, cabinets, structural components, and high-precision fabricated parts, stimulus efforts tend to translate quickly into heightened procurement from downstream buyers. Such developments may offer a short-lived upside in the steel supply chain, especially for distributors specializing in sheet cutting, slitting, and value-added processing. Consumption of the five major steel products in the week ending in mid-November 2025 was 8.88 million tons, falling 0.7% over the previous week. Among these, usage of construction steel fell 0.3%, and consumption of plate increased 2.3% on a week-to-week basis.
Nonetheless, volatility remains the dominant theme for the near term. Import competition in the CRS sheet segment is limited but still influential in coastal markets, creating uncertainty for domestic sellers. Fluctuations in raw material input costs and global flat-steel cues also continue to affect sentiment. While seasonal weakness traditionally persists through December, most CRS stockists anticipate a brief uptick in inquiries by early January as restocking begins and normal trading patterns resume.
To sum up, CRS market is anticipated to be sustained under pressure on account of sluggish year-end activities and hesitancy of buyers in the near term. Nevertheless, the sector's medium-term market outlook for CRS remains cautiously positive as supply moderation and/or demand improvements supported by the policy could bring mild upside momentum going into the new year.
