This week's building materials warehouse continued to accumulate, with regional performance diverging.

According to SMM research, the social inventory of building materials continued to accumulate this week. As of February 12, 2026, the SMM building material social inventory reached 4.3638 million tons, an increase of 521,900 tons or 13.58% compared to last week. This is mainly due to the approaching Spring Festival holiday, during which most downstream construction sites shut down, the market is basically closed, and seasonal inventory accumulation occurs. Regionally, inventory performance varies slightly. South China’s overall inventory remained stable, mainly because electric furnace plants collectively reduced production for the annual holiday during this cycle, leading to decreased supply. Central China’s inventory accelerated in accumulation, primarily due to the restart of blast furnace plants during this cycle, increasing steel plant supply. East China’s inventory increase was concentrated in Hangzhou, mainly due to increased market arrivals, while downstream construction sites gradually went on holiday, reducing demand, which led to a week-on-week social inventory increase of 150,000 tons in this region. Inventory in other regions continued to accumulate normally. (SMM)