Market demand is differentiated, with traditional and emerging fields experiencing a stark contrast

Traditional real estate-related building materials are under pressure: The continuous adjustment of the real estate market has a significant impact on the demand for traditional building materials. The total output of the cement industry declined in 2025, and market prices fluctuated frequently due to sluggish demand and the competitive strategies of enterprises. The national cement market price dropped by 1.2% month-on-month in February 2025. The recovery of demand after the Spring Festival was extremely slow. The enthusiasm of downstream mixing plants and engineering projects to start work was not high, and the problem of tight funds was prominent. In most regions, there were few new municipal engineering projects, which led to a sluggish start of the bulk market. The average shipment rate of enterprises in key regions across the country was only 11.5%. The flat glass market is also facing difficulties. Although prices have risen temporarily, the overall demand recovery has fallen short of expectations, and inventories have continued to rise. As of February 13, 2025, the total inventory of sample enterprises of float glass across the country reached 63.104 million heavy cases, increasing by 4.92% month-on-month and 21.03% year-on-year.

Emerging and domestic demand markets bring hope: The stable growth of infrastructure investment provides important support for the building materials industry. From January to November 2024, the cumulative investment in infrastructure (excluding electricity, heat, gas and water) reached 16.8 trillion yuan, increasing by 5.34% year-on-year. Among them, the cumulative investment in the electricity, heat, gas and water sectors rose by 24.10% year-on-year. Entering 2025, as local fiscal pressure eases and major projects accelerate their progress, the driving effect of infrastructure on the demand for building materials will become increasingly significant. Meanwhile, the renovation of existing houses and the active second-hand housing transaction market have become new growth points in the consumer building materials sector. Many local governments have introduced subsidy policies for the renovation of old houses. For instance, Nanjing City offers a 15% subsidy for the purchase of renovation materials for old houses in 2025, which has stimulated home decoration consumption among consumers and driven up the demand for consumer building materials such as tiles, paints, and doors and Windows. In addition, the vigorous development of the new energy sector has driven a sharp increase in the demand for related building materials such as photovoltaic glass and glass fiber for wind turbine blades, opening up a brand-new market space for the industry.