en.Wedoany.com Reported - Data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics on June 16, 2026, shows that in May 2026, the value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.5% year-on-year in real terms, accelerating by 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. However, the output of building materials continued to decline, with national cement output reaching 149.91 million tonnes, down 8.1% year-on-year; flat glass output reaching 75.48 million weight boxes, down 6.3% year-on-year. Cumulatively from January to May, cement output was 590.91 million tonnes, down 8.6% year-on-year; flat glass output was 370.41 million weight boxes, down 6.3% year-on-year.
By three major categories, in May, the value-added of the mining industry grew by 2.3% year-on-year, manufacturing by 4.4%, and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water by 7.6%. By type of economic ownership, the value-added of state-controlled enterprises grew by 3.7% year-on-year, joint-stock enterprises by 5.2%, enterprises funded by foreign investors and investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan by 1.9%, and private enterprises by 2.7%. By industry, among 41 major industrial sectors, 28 maintained year-on-year growth in value-added. Coal mining and washing grew by 3.5%, oil and natural gas extraction by 1.5%, chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing by 0.3%, non-metallic mineral products manufacturing fell by 5.6%, and electricity and heat production and supply grew by 8.7%.
By output of major products, among the 626 products surveyed, 300 saw year-on-year growth. Steel output reached 123.03 million tonnes, down 2.8% year-on-year; ethylene output reached 3.38 million tonnes, up 2.1% year-on-year; electricity generation reached 784.3 billion kWh, up 4.2% year-on-year; crude oil processing volume reached 53.72 million tonnes, down 9.1% year-on-year. In May, the product sales rate of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 96.0%, down 0.1 percentage points year-on-year; export delivery value reached 1,388.4 billion yuan, a nominal year-on-year increase of 10.1%.
Cement and flat glass are key basic materials for the construction and real estate industries. Their sustained output decline reflects the transmission impact of China's real estate market adjustment and the slowdown in infrastructure construction pace on upstream building materials sectors. According to data from the China Cement Association, total cement output in 2025 was approximately 1.95 billion tonnes, already down about 23% from the peak in 2020. The 8.6% cumulative decline in the first five months of 2026 indicates the industry is still in the process of bottoming out. The consecutive monthly decline in flat glass output is also related to the reduction in completed floor space of real estate and overcapacity in float glass. Meanwhile, the value-added of electricity and heat production and supply grew by 8.7%, and electricity generation grew by 4.2%, reflecting the resilience of industrial electricity demand. The 10.1% year-on-year growth in export delivery value indicates an enhanced role of external demand in driving industrial production.
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