India's steel pipe manufacturing sector demonstrated robust performance in the December 2025 quarter, with major players reporting strong volume growth driven by sustained infrastructure and construction demand. The sector's leading companies posted impressive year-on-year and sequential growth figures, reflecting the ongoing momentum in India's development activities.

Sector Leader Sets New Records

APL Apollo Tubes established new benchmarks with exceptional performance across reporting periods. The company's quarterly and nine-month performance highlights its market leadership:

Mid-Cap Players Show Strong Momentum

JTL Industries delivered consistent growth across multiple timeframes, achieving significant milestones in both quarterly and nine-month performance. The company reported sales volume of 90,429.10 MT in Q3 FY26, representing a 10.83% sequential increase from 81,593 MT in Q2 FY26 and 3.10% annual growth from 87,713.57 MT in Q3 FY25.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, JTL Industries recorded its highest-ever nine-month sales volume of 2,72,639 MT compared with 2,63,805 MT in the corresponding period last year, marking 3.35% annual growth.

Sambhv Steel Tubes achieved its highest-ever quarterly sales of value-added products during Q3 FY26, driven by strong demand for structural pipes and tubes, pre-galvanised coils and pipes, and stainless steel coils. The company's quarterly performance showed:

Diversified Portfolio Drives Growth

Hi-Tech Pipes recorded sales volumes of 1,36,067 MT in Q3 FY26, demonstrating strong performance with approximately 9.52% year-on-year growth from 1,24,233 MT in Q3 FY25. The company also posted sequential growth of about 9% compared with 1,25,218 MT in Q2 FY26.

Rama Steel Tubes reported significant volume expansion with sales of 58,974.55 tons in Q3 FY26 compared with 51,669.01 tons in Q3 FY25. For the nine-month period ended December 2025, the company achieved substantial growth with sales of 1,71,935.78 tons against 1,39,956.23 tons in the same period last year.

Industry Outlook Remains Positive

Across the sector, companies reported higher dispatches across ERW, galvanised and structural pipe categories. The strong performance reflects several key factors driving growth:

• Sustained infrastructure development projects
• Ongoing construction sector momentum
• Diversified product portfolios meeting varied market demands
• Strategic capacity additions enabling companies to capture increased demand

The steel pipe manufacturing sector's robust Q3 FY26 performance underscores the industry's ability to capitalize on India's infrastructure and construction upcycle, with leading companies demonstrating operational efficiency and market responsiveness.

India has imposed a safeguard duty of up to 12% on select steel imports from China, Vietnam, and Nepal for three years, following an investigation that found surging low-priced imports were causing serious injury to the domestic steel industry. The measure aims to protect Indian steelmakers from sudden import shocks and restore competitive balance in the market.

Investigation Findings and Rationale

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) conducted an investigation that revealed imports of alloy and non-alloy steel flat products had risen suddenly and sharply, hurting Indian manufacturers. The investigation concluded that cheaper foreign steel led to significant market share loss for domestic producers, created pricing pressure, and weakened capacity utilisation and profitability. The DGTR determined that the injury was material and ongoing, with domestic producers unable to compete effectively against underpriced imports.

Duty Structure and Implementation

The safeguard duty will be implemented in a phased reduction approach over the three-year period:

This final measure replaces a 12% provisional safeguard duty that was imposed in April and expired in November 2025. The duty applies specifically to imports originating from the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, and Nepal.

Market Impact and Pricing Analysis

Market data demonstrates the competitive pressure faced by Indian steelmakers before the duty implementation. Chinese hot-rolled coil (HRC) was being imported at a landed cost of approximately ₹48,040.00 per tonne, compared with domestic HRC prices of around ₹47,200.00 per tonne. This pricing structure made imports competitive even without tariff advantages, creating unfair competition for domestic producers.

Expected Benefits for Domestic Industry

The safeguard duty is expected to provide immediate relief to domestic steel producers through several mechanisms. With the 12% duty, the landed cost of Chinese HRC could rise to approximately ₹55,465.00 per tonne, significantly reducing the price gap and improving the competitiveness of Indian producers.

Industry participants anticipate the measure will help:

• Prevent margin erosion and financial stress
• Restore fair competition against underpriced imports
• Support stable production planning and domestic pricing
• Provide insulation from sudden import shocks
• Restore pricing discipline in the domestic market

The three-year implementation period with gradual duty reduction is designed to provide domestic steelmakers with sufficient time to strengthen their competitive position while allowing for market adjustment.