In recent years, the global steel pipe industry has experienced unprecedented turbulence and adjustment. From a macro demand perspective, the World Steel Association predicts that global steel demand will remain roughly flat at approximately 1.749 billion tons in 2025, and is expected to rebound slightly by 1.3% to 1.772 billion tons in 2026, showing a trend of "bottoming out this year and slightly rebounding next year." As the world's largest producer and exporter of steel pipes, China's steel pipe exports reached 12.483 million tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 12.46%, of which seamless steel pipe exports reached 6.283 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.79%. However, behind the export boom is the distinct characteristic of "increased volume and decreased prices, trading volume for price"—the average export price of seamless steel pipes in 2025 was US$1,182 per ton, a year-on-year decrease of 6.03%. Meanwhile, the average price of welded pipes in the domestic market declined further compared to 2024, continuing its downward trend after the Spring Festival until the end of June, falling from 3755 yuan/ton to 3473 yuan/ton. Entering 2026, seamless pipe prices remained at their lowest levels in the past three years, with the average price in May still below 4350 yuan/ton, far lower than the over 4800 yuan/ton in the same period of 2024.

Against this complex and challenging macroeconomic backdrop, Sanonpipe, with its one-stop steel pipe service model and ample spot reserves, continues to provide global customers with end-to-end solutions from raw material control, packaging, coating to ocean shipping, building solid product competitiveness and supply chain resilience in a market environment of "increased volume and decreased prices."

I. Global Steel Pipe Market: Profound Adjustment in Supply and Demand Structure, High-End Essential Demand Becomes a "Stabilizer" Affected by multiple factors such as global high inflation, geopolitics, and trade frictions, the steel pipe industry has entered a period of deep adjustment. According to data from IMARC Group, the global steel pipe market size was approximately US$84.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach US$94.2 billion by 2034, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for over 75.6% of the market share. In terms of demand distribution, infrastructure investment and energy security strategies are reshaping the downstream landscape—in 2025, new special-purpose bonds totaling 4.4 trillion yuan were issued, primarily invested in water conservancy, power, and urban pipeline network renovation, directly driving demand for seamless and welded steel pipes.

However, structural differentiation is also significant. On the one hand, overall demand for welded pipes continued to decline in 2025, with a significant contraction in demand for pipes used in construction, and continued sluggish real estate investment leading to weak demand for scaffolding and galvanized pipes. On the other hand, seamless steel pipes demonstrated strong resilience due to the diversified downstream application environments—in the first half of 2025, China's apparent consumption of seamless steel pipes reached 12.6771 million tons, an increase of 367,000 tons year-on-year, representing a growth rate of 3.0%, achieving growth against the market trend.

More importantly, the market is showing a clear differentiation pattern of "oversupply of ordinary pipes and undersupply of high-end special-purpose pipes." Prices for seamless steel pipes remained firm due to stable demand in the oil and gas, chemical, and high-pressure boiler sectors, while prices for ordinary small- and medium-diameter pipes continued to weaken under pressure. On the export side, the Middle East became the largest export destination for Chinese seamless steel pipes, accounting for 42.02%. These structural changes have opened up new development opportunities for one-stop suppliers with high-end product delivery capabilities.

Sanonpipe has keenly grasped this trend, leveraging its rich high-end product portfolio and mature supply network to become a crucial bridge connecting upstream production capacity with downstream demand.

II. Comprehensive Product Qualification Coverage: Building a Technological Moat from Boiler Tubes to Petrochemical Tubes
Sanonpipe has a deep presence in the two core downstream sectors of energy and chemical engineering and machinery manufacturing. Statistics show that the most crucial downstream industries for seamless steel pipes are energy and chemical engineering and machinery manufacturing, accounting for 42.1% and 26.7% of demand respectively in 2024, totaling approximately 68.8% of the total domestic demand for seamless steel pipes. The company's core products align perfectly with this strategy—boiler tubes account for 40%, line pipes 20%, welded pipes 20% and Square hollow section 20% each, forming a product portfolio covering mainstream high-value-added sectors.

In the boiler tube sector, Sanonpipe strictly adheres to mainstream international standards, covering grades such as P5, P9, P11, P12, P22, P91, and P92 from ASTM A335/A335M-2019; 20Mng, 25Mng, 12CrMoG, 15CrMoG, 12Cr2MoG, and 12CrMoVG from GB/T5310-2017; and the T11, T12, T22, T23, and T91 series from ASME SA-213/SA-213M.

In the pipeline sector, the company can supply API 5L GR.B, X42, and other steel grades; welded pipes cover specifications such as S355JOH and S355J2H according to EN 10210 and EN 10219; hollow profiles also comply with EN standards.

In the petrochemical piping sector, Sanonpipe can provide materials such as 15MoG, 20MoG, 12CrMoG, 15CrMoG, 12Cr2MoG, 12CrMoVG and 20G, 20MnG, 25MnG as specified in GB9948-2006, and 12CrMo, 15CrMo, 12Cr1MoV, 12Cr2Mo, 12Cr5Mo series as specified in GB6479-2013. For heat exchanger tubes, the company supplies high-quality materials such as SA210C, T11, T12, T22, T23, T91, and T92.

In addition, Sanonpipe maintains a long-term stock of key grades including SA106B, 20G, Q345, 12Cr1MoVG, 15CrMoG, Cr5Mo, 1Cr9Mo, 10CrMo910, and A335 P5/P9/P11/P12/P22/P91/P92, among other urgently needed products.

These high-quality seamless steel pipes strictly adhere to the highest industry manufacturing standards, possessing excellent corrosion resistance, high-temperature and high-pressure stability, and a long service life. They can meet the rigid demands of oil and gas exploration and development, thermal power project construction, and the chemical industry under the energy security strategy.

III. Massive Inventory Builds Supply Resilience: 20,000 Tons of Spot Goods Outperform Price Fluctuations In an industry environment characterized by persistently low prices and a widespread "production-to-order" strategy, having ample spot inventory has become one of the most core competitive advantages for suppliers. Sanonpipe, with its mature network of partner factories and warehousing facilities, maintains a standing inventory of approximately 20,000 tons of seamless steel pipes (including carbon steel, alloy steel, welded pipes, and rectangular pipes).

This inventory level is particularly crucial in the current market context. Looking back at the seamless pipe price trend in 2025, prices fluctuated downwards after the Spring Festival until the end of June, then surged rapidly in July and August driven by raw material costs, but subsequently entered another period of weak fluctuations. Entering 2026, the seamless pipe market entered a period of balancing conflict between price, profit, and transaction volume. Profits for Shandong billet rolling mills remained low at 50-100 yuan/ton, with the industry as a whole maintaining a marginal profit. Meanwhile, although overall pipe inventory was low, the industry generally adopted a "low inventory, low elasticity" operating strategy, highlighting the problem of inventory backlog for ordinary pipes while high-end pipes remained in short supply.

Sanonpipe's ample spot reserves not only effectively mitigate the risks of short-term price fluctuations but also enable customers to "order and ship immediately," significantly shortening the procurement cycle. In the current context of high market volatility and the ineffectiveness of traditional "stockpiling for price increases" strategies, the company's strong spot delivery capabilities provide customers with a powerful guarantee to reduce supply chain uncertainty and mitigate price risks.

IV. Price Trend Analysis and Market Outlook: Off-Season Pressure but Strong Demand
The current steel pipe market is in a critical transitional period of a weak recovery cycle. The average price of seamless pipes was around RMB 4,327/ton at the end of May 2026, a slight increase of RMB 9/ton year-on-year, but the price level remains lower than the historical average for the same period. Looking ahead to June, the market will face the challenges of the off-season, with the rainy season in the south and high temperatures in the north. Procurement will become more cautious, and the average daily transaction volume of seamless pipes is expected to fall back to the range of 13,000-15,000 tons. However, the downside potential is already locked in by rigid costs—upstream iron ore and coking coal prices are relatively strong in the short term, and the profit margins of Shandong billet rolling mills remain low at 50-100 yuan/ton. Steel mills have little incentive to actively lower prices, and the average price of seamless steel pipes is likely to fluctuate within a narrow range of 4250-4350 yuan/ton.

In the medium to long term, according to the World Steel Association, global steel demand is expected to rebound to 1.772 billion tons in 2026, with relatively strong growth momentum in regions such as the EU, ASEAN, and India. Although China's seamless steel pipe industry faces the dual pressures of overcapacity and homogeneous competition, exports have remained resilient, with seamless steel pipe exports increasing by 9.79% year-on-year in 2025. Against this backdrop, Sanonpipe, relying on approximately 30,000 tons of spot reserves and a product matrix covering all categories, possesses a deep-seated logic for counter-trend growth.

V. Sanonpipe: One-stop service reduces costs and increases efficiency, empowering customers to navigate economic cycles.

From its inception, Sanonpipe has been committed to reshaping the service standards of the steel pipe supply chain. The company integrates the entire process, including raw material control, packaging, coating, and shipping, allowing customers to complete the entire process from order to delivery without having to deal with multiple suppliers, significantly reducing procurement and communication costs.

The company has established a mature network of cooperative factories and warehouses both domestically and internationally, balancing product quality and supply efficiency. All products undergo rigorous quality control, fully meeting international standards such as ASTM, ASME, GB, and EN.

Currently, the global steel pipe industry is undergoing a strategic transformation from "trading volume for price" to "winning through quality." Cheng Haitao, senior consultant of the Steel Pipe Branch of the China Steel Structure Association, points out that the seamless steel pipe industry must focus on the core tasks of "controlling production capacity, launching new products, improving quality, and reducing costs," shifting from scale expansion to value creation. Sanonpipe is a practitioner of this trend—the company not only supplies high-end boiler tubes, pipeline tubes, petrochemical tubes, and heat exchanger tubes that meet the highest industry standards, but also reduces overall costs for customers through a one-stop service model, creating and leading market demand with high-quality supply.

Conclusion
During this period of industry restructuring characterized by increased volume and decreased prices, Sanonpipe adheres to a quality-first, service-centric approach. Leveraging ample inventory and a product portfolio covering mainstream high-end applications, it provides global customers with a trustworthy one-stop steel pipe service platform. Moving forward, the company will continue to closely monitor international market dynamics and price trends, optimize supply chain configuration, and empower customers to navigate industry cyclical fluctuations with long-term success.

About Sanonpipe
Sanonpipe is a global integrated steel pipe service provider. Headquartered in Sanonpipe, it leverages an advanced supply chain management system to provide cost-effective carbon steel, alloy steel, and stainless steel pipe products to the energy, chemical, machinery, and construction sectors. The company's products encompass boiler tubes, line pipes, welded pipes, hollow profiles, and mechanical pipes, with major grades including SA106B, 20G, 12Cr1MoVG, 15CrMoG, and the A335 series, strictly complying with international standards such as ASTM, ASME, GB, and EN.

Media Contact
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Email:info@sanonpipe.

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