Flat Glass Output Fell 4.9% in Quarter 1
Apr 21, 2026
On April 16, China's National Bureau of Statistics released March industrial production data. Output from firms above a certain size (large-scale industrial enterprises) grew 5.7% year over year. Flat glass production came in at 76.37 million weight boxes, down 6.6% from a year earlier.
Looking at the first quarter as a whole, industrial output grew 6.1% compared to the same period last year. Cumulative flat glass production reached 223.9 million weight boxes, a decline of 4.9%.
Breaking it down by sector
In March, mining output was up 5.7%. Manufacturing rose 6.0%. And utilities – electricity, heat, gas, and water – increased 3.5%.
By ownership type
State-owned firms saw output rise 5.9%. Joint-stock companies were up 6.2%. Companies with foreign, Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan investment grew 3.7%. Private firms rose 4.0%.
By industry
Out of 41 major industry categories, 30 posted year-over-year growth in March.
Coal mining and washing: +5.3%
Oil and gas extraction: +9.4%
Non-metallic mineral products: -5.5%
Ferrous metal smelting and rolling: +1.7%
Non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling: flat (0%)
Electricity and heat production and supply: +4.2%
By product
Out of 626 tracked industrial products, 329 saw output increases in March.
Steel: 130.98 million metric tons, down 2.3%
Cement: 12.31 million metric tons, down 21.0%
Flat glass: 76.37 million weight boxes, down 6.6%
Power generation: 802.5 billion kWh, up 1.4%
Crude oil processing: 61.67 million metric tons, down 2.2%
Other notes
The sales rate for industrial products in March was 93.8%, up 0.7 percentage points from a year ago. Export deliveries for large-scale industrial firms reached 1.458 trillion yuan, a nominal increase of 8.7% year over year.
