SSAW (Spiral Submerged Arc Welding) steel pipes are widely used in fields such as oil and gas transportation and construction engineering, and their price trends are affected by a variety of factors. In recent years, the price of SSAW Steel Pipes in China has shown a complex fluctuation trend.

Review of price fluctuations in recent years

From a long-term perspective, the price of SSAW steel pipes has experienced multiple rounds of ups and downs in the past few years. During 2020-2021, driven by factors such as global economic recovery, increased investment in infrastructure construction, and capacity reduction in the steel industry, the price of SSAW steel pipes has seen a significant increase. At that time, large-scale domestic oil and gas pipeline construction projects were intensively started, such as key projects such as the West-East Gas Pipeline, which greatly increased the demand for SSAW steel pipes and drove up prices. At the same time, the rise in the prices of steel raw materials, such as the sharp rise in the prices of iron ore and coke, further pushed up the production cost of SSAW steel pipes, prompting prices to continue to rise.

Entering 2022-2023, the market situation has changed. The global economic growth slowed down, the domestic real estate market adjusted, the demand for construction steel weakened, and the demand for SSAW steel pipes in the construction field declined accordingly. In the field of oil and gas, the pace of project construction slowed down, and the number of newly started projects decreased, resulting in an overall contraction in market demand. At the same time, after the expansion of the steel industry's production capacity in the early stage, the market supply was relatively sufficient, and the situation of oversupply gradually emerged, and the price of SSAW steel pipes began to enter a downward channel.

Recent price performance and influencing factors

Price dynamics in 2024-2025

From the beginning of 2024 to March 2025, the overall price of SSAW steel pipes was relatively low and fluctuated frequently. Taking early March 2025 as an example, from the perspective of raw materials, the market prices of billets, strip steel, etc. fluctuated. On March 7, the ex-factory price of ordinary square billets of the leading steel mills in Qian'an, Tangshan, was 3040 yuan including tax, down 20 yuan from the previous trading day; the ex-factory price of Tangshan Ruifeng coils, including tax, was in the range of 3290-3300 yuan for products of different specifications, down 30 yuan from the previous trading day. The instability of raw material prices directly affects the production cost of SSAW steel pipes.

In terms of finished product prices, taking the Xi'an market as an example, as of March 7, 2025, the monitoring data of Lange Steel Cloud Business Platform showed that the tax-inclusive price of 4-inch (3.75) welded pipes was 3690 yuan for Youfa and 3660 yuan for Zhengda, which was the same as the previous trading day. Although the pipe mills had previously reported price increases, due to the high market inventory, traders did not generally follow the price increases, and some even slightly lowered prices to promote transactions.

Key factors affecting prices

Raw material cost: Steel is the main raw material for SSAW steel pipes, and its price fluctuations directly affect the cost of SSAW steel pipes. Changes in the prices of raw materials such as iron ore and coke will be transmitted to steel prices, which in turn affect the price of SSAW steel pipes. If the price of iron ore rises due to mine production cuts and changes in the international supply pattern, steel mills will increase the ex-factory price of steel to ensure profits, and the cost of purchasing steel for SSAW steel pipe manufacturers will increase, which will eventually lead to an increase in the price of SSAW steel pipes. In 2021, the price of iron ore rose sharply, causing a sharp increase in steel costs, and the price of SSAW steel pipes also rose sharply.

Market supply and demand: On the demand side, the construction of oil pipelines, construction projects and other fields have a significant impact on the demand for SSAW steel pipes. In recent years, although the development of domestic oil and gas resources and the construction of transmission pipelines have been promoted to a certain extent, the speed has slowed down compared with before, which has put certain pressure on the demand for SSAW steel pipes. The construction industry is affected by factors such as real estate market regulation and economic environment, and the demand for SSAW steel pipes is also unstable. From the supply side, the production capacity and output of SSAW steel pipe manufacturers affect market supply. If the company's production capacity expands too fast, while demand growth is limited, the market is oversupplied, and prices will face downward pressure; conversely, when supply is insufficient to meet demand, prices will rise. For example, when a large number of companies add SSAW steel pipe production capacity in a certain period, and market demand does not grow synchronously, there is an oversupply of steel pipes in the market, and prices will fall.

Macroeconomics and policies: The macroeconomic situation affects corporate investment and infrastructure construction efforts. When the economy grows faster, energy demand increases, driving investment in oil pipeline construction, and promoting SSAW steel pipe demand and price increases. In terms of policies, the government's environmental protection policies and industrial policies for the steel industry affect the production and operation costs of enterprises and the market structure. Strict environmental protection policies may cause some small factories that do not meet environmental protection standards to reduce or stop production, reduce market supply, and drive price increases; while policies that encourage the steel industry to optimize and upgrade and improve capacity utilization may affect market supply and demand and price trends in the long run. For example, if the government strengthens environmental supervision of the steel industry, some small SSAW steel pipe manufacturers will be shut down due to non-compliance with environmental standards, market supply will decrease, and prices will be supported.

International trade situation: International trade frictions also have an impact on SSAW steel pipe prices. China is a major steel producer and exporter. If other countries impose tariffs on Chinese steel products, it will inhibit China's SSAW steel pipe exports, resulting in increased domestic market supply and falling prices. The US tariffs on China have officially come into effect. The tariffs on Chinese imports are superimposed on the 10% imposed on February 4, with a cumulative tariff of 20%, which poses challenges to China's steel exports and affects the price trend of SSAW steel pipes.

Price trend outlook

In the short term, entering the traditional "Golden March" season, market demand is expected to be gradually released, but due to the current high market inventory and slow demand recovery, the price of SSAW steel pipes has limited momentum for increase, and it is expected to maintain a stable or narrow adjustment trend. If the subsequent market inventory decline accelerates and demand rebounds significantly, prices are expected to stabilize and rebound.

In the long run, with the continuous growth of domestic energy demand and the advancement of infrastructure construction such as oil pipelines, the demand for SSAW steel pipes will be supported to a certain extent. However, at the same time, if the problem of overcapacity in the steel industry is not effectively solved, as well as the uncertainty of the international trade situation, it will still have an impact on price trends. Under the guidance of industrial policies, the structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading of the steel industry will also change the market supply and demand relationship, and thus affect the future trend of SSAW steel pipe prices. For example, if the steel industry improves production efficiency and reduces costs through technological innovation, or if the market demand structure changes, the demand for high-end and high-performance SSAW steel pipes will increase, which will have different degrees of impact on prices.