Only 1/3 of steel trading companies shuffled

During the heyday of the steel industry, there were about 200,000 steel traders of all kinds in the country. Now it is no longer the scene. According to data provided by analysts, the number of Chinese steel traders has decreased by about two-thirds, and continues to show a downward trend. Wang Jianzhong, secretary general of the China Iron and Steel Association of Iron and Steel Logistics Committee, said that some steel trading companies have been actively transforming and gaining experience.

Wang Jianzhong disclosed that the preliminary research results of the “public steel development status and policy research on national steel trade and business development” initiated by the China Logistics and Purchasing Federation’s Steel Logistics Committee showed that the situation in the steel trade industry is still not optimistic, but some companies are already in the steel electronics industry. Business experience, terminal channels, circulation processing and other aspects have achieved experience.

The steel trade crisis has triggered market concerns. Under the backdrop of the overall decline of the steel industry and serious losses, the steel trade industry has undergone drastic changes since 2008, and shuffling has accelerated. The phenomenon of steel traders running and jumping from building to building has often occurred. The continuous fermentation of the steel trade crisis triggered market hot debates.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission issued an article in early August calling for strengthening the prevention and mitigation of risks in the corporate guarantor circle. It warned that the areas with high corporate risks in the guarantor circle are the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and other places, and the industries are steel trade, coal, textile and chemical fiber. Qiuyue Cheng, a senior researcher at the Nisshin Shinkansen Group, said that banks are increasingly wary of high-risk steel and real estate industries, and the industry’s tight funding situation is unlikely to ease in the short term.

"China's commercial banks have shrunk the steel industry, the number of Chinese steel trading companies has drastically decreased, the scale of operations has shrunk dramatically, steel mills have a high debt-to-asset ratio, and they have difficulty in financing, and financial and consumer spending have risen sharply," Wu said.

Li Xinchuang, dean of China Metallurgical Industry Planning Institute and deputy secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, once told the Great Wisdom News Agency that in recent years, the steel industry has exceeded supply and the market is in a downturn, and the prosperity of the steel trade industry has also dropped. Secondly, steel The characteristics of the “scattered, small, chaotic” trade industry are very obvious; at the same time, the operating costs and ** costs of the steel trade enterprises are relatively high. In this context, individual steel traders have brought about credit crunches such as the breakdown of corporate funds and the phenomenon of running of the owner due to illegal operations.

The reluctantly survived steel trade enterprises can only live their lives by “tightening their belts”, and part of the steel trading industry has been forced to take a transitional path.

The transformation of steel trade into e-commerce has no choice but to select the downturn in the steel industry, triggering corporate thinking in all sectors to seek transformation. Among them, the development of e-commerce in the steel industry has attracted the most attention from the market.

Property extension is the epitome of steel trade transformation. The property Zhongtuo e-commerce platform was commissioned in August 2013. According to the annual report, in 2013, the total volume of online transactions was 308,600 tons. Property Zhongtuo publicly stated that the volume of online transactions in 2014 continued to increase. At present, the key work of the e-commerce business lies in the improvement of the e-commerce platform's functions and business expansion. Therefore, it is impossible to estimate the annual trading volume.

GF Securities Feng Gangyong’s research report on August 4 showed that China Steel & Metals Tongye, as the weakest link in the steel industry chain, will surely take the lead in reform. With reference to the constraints and development paths of Japan's and the United States' steel trade, it is judged that China does not have the conditions for simple reproduction. The major changes in the steel industry are expected to be led by the steel e-commerce.

In order to thoroughly understand the status quo, development trends, and problems of steel trading enterprises, the relevant state departments entrusted the China Logistics and Purchasing Federation Iron and Steel Logistics Committee to take on the responsibility of undertaking the “National Steel Trade and Business Development Status and Policy Research” public welfare project with a view to helping the country The competent authorities formulate policies to provide references and seek scientific development methods for the steel logistics industry and expand the development space.

Wang Jianzhong stated that the preliminary investigation results of the above-mentioned public welfare projects showed that the situation of the steel trade industry is still not optimistic, but some companies have already obtained experience in iron and steel electricity suppliers, terminal channels, and circulation processing.