Jul. 23, 2026 - In the first half of 2026, China's production of the major downstream industries of refractory materials showed a clear trend of polarization. Among them, the output of traditional high energy-consuming industries such as steel, cement and flat glass all declined year-on-year, while industries such as non-ferrous metals and ferroalloys maintained growth driven by the new energy industry chain. 

From January to June, China's cumulative pig iron output was 426.637 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.8%. The cumulative output of crude steel was 499.949 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.0%. Although the crude steel output in June increased slightly by 0.4% year-on-year, the cumulative decline was still significant. 

Building materials is the second largest downstream industry for refractory materials, with a consumption share of approximately 21.3%. In the first half of 2026, the output of cement was 735.848 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 8.0%, which was the largest decline among all downstream varieties. The output of flat glass was 446.826 million weight cases, a year-on-year decrease of 5.7%. 

Although the consumption proportion of refractory materials in the non-ferrous metals industry is not high, it is the most outstanding sector among the downstream refractory materials in the first half of 2026. Output of ten kinds of non-ferrous metals was 41.513 million tons, up 3.3% year-on-year.

It is worth noting that lead production in the first half of 2026 decreased by 6.9% year-on-year, being the only variety in the non-ferrous metals sector to decline. This was mainly due to the suppression of lead-acid batteries by the substitution effect of lithium batteries, coupled with the cancellation of subsidies for "trade-in" electric bicycles and the switch to new national standards, leading to a continuous weakening of demand.

The specific output of refractory materials-consuming industries in Jan-May 2026 is listed as follows:

Industry	Output in Jun 2026 (Million Ton)	YoY Growth Rate (%)	Output in Jan-Jun 2026 (Million Ton)	YoY Growth Rate (%)
Pig iron	71.990	-0.9	426.637	-2.8
Crude steel	83.667	0.4	499.949	-3.0
Cement	144.226	-5.6	735.848	-8.0
Flat glass	76.537 (mln weight case)	-5.3	446.826 (mln weight case)	-5.7
Ferroalloy	3.445	5.9	19.604	5.3
Alumina	7.823	2.6	45.772	3.3
Electrolytic aluminum	3.979	4.7	23.187	3.8
Electrolytic copper	1.334	4.0	7.608	5.2
Lead	0.612	-4.8	3.554	-6.9
Zinc	0.647	2.5	3.758	5.1
Ten non-ferrous metals	7.188	3.9	41.513	3.3
Coke	42.036	1.1	252.495	1.6