CUMIC Steel

What CUMIC Steel does

CUMIC Steel is a Shanghai-headquartered global steel trading and solutions company that operates as a B2B intermediary between Chinese and international steel mills and end-user enterprises. Founded in 2006 as CUMIC STEEL LIMITED, the company sources carbon steel and special steel products from a network of 600+ steel mills and supplies them to 3,000+ regular customers across 100+ countries. Its product portfolio spans flat carbon steel (plates, sheets, coils), long carbon steel (sections, rods), carbon steel pipes and tubes, finished steel products (forgings, fittings, grating, sheet piles), coated carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel in multiple bar and rod forms, and silicon steel. CUMIC supplements its physical product offering with value-added services including quality control, financial services, and after-sale services, positioning itself as an all-in-one steel sourcing partner rather than a pure commodity broker.

The company's go-to-market is enterprise field sales executed through direct B2B relationships, supported by a five-language website (English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian), a downloads portal, an industry blog/newsroom, and active participation in major trade events such as ADIPEC and FABTECH. Pricing is quote-based rather than publicly disclosed, and revenue is generated through transaction fees on steel trading volume. CUMIC holds ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certifications and was named to the Forbes China Go-International Top 30 Brand in 2024. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, no disclosed funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. Operationally, CUMIC maintains 51-100 employees and branch offices in Houston and Dubai in addition to its Shanghai headquarters, reflecting a capital-light trading model that relies on distribution scale and supplier relationships rather than owned production capacity.

Name

CUMIC Steel

Legal name

CUMIC STEEL LIMITED

Website

https://cumic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CUMIC Steel is a Shanghai-headquartered B2B steel trading company that sources carbon and special steel from 600+ mills to supply 3,000+ customers across 100+ countries in manufacturing, construction, energy, marine, and mining sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Steel Trading and Supply

NAICS

Iron and Steel Pipe and Tube Manufacturing from Purchased Steel (33121)

SIC

Steel Pipe & Tubes (3317)

akta.pro primary industry

Steel Products Trading & Service Centers (Flat, Long, Pipe & Tube, Rebar) (IMAKAJAB)

Keywords

• Steel product trading
• Carbon steel supply
• Special steel sourcing
• Steel mill distribution
• Global steel export

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Steel Trading and Supply: CUMIC generates revenue through the trading and supply of carbon steel and special steel products sourced from their network of 600+ steel mills globally. They provide integrated solutions including quality control, financial services, and after-sale services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CUMIC Steel is a steel trading and supply company based in Shanghai, China, that sources carbon steel and special steel products from over 600 steel mills worldwide. The company supplies these steel products to more than 3,000 regular industrial customers across 100+ countries, acting as an intermediary between upstream mills and downstream buyers. Its core activity is the procurement, sale, and cross-border distribution of steel materials.

Product overview

CUMIC Steel is a global steel solutions provider and trading company offering an extensive range of quality steel products sourced from 600+ steel mills worldwide, serving 3000+ regular customers across 100+ countries. The company operates as a diversified steel supplier rather than a single unified product platform. The product portfolio comprises two main categories: Carbon Steel products (including flat products like coils and sheets, long products like sections and rods, pipes and tubes, and finished products like forgings and grating, available in hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated variants) and Special Steel products (including alloy steel and stainless steel in various shapes such as square bars, round bars, flat bars, hexagon bars, hot forged bars, hot rolled bars, cold drawn bars, and peeled bars). CUMIC provides value-added services including quality control, financial services, and after-sale services, positioning itself as a comprehensive steel sourcing partner rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbon Steel Products Carbon steel products sourced from a global network of more than 600 steel mills and supplied to industrial buyers across 100+ countries. Intended for manufacturing and construction customers that require commodity-grade steel as raw material or semi-finished input.
• Special Steel Products Special steel products sourced from more than 600 steel mills worldwide and distributed to industrial customers in 100+ countries. Targeted at buyers requiring specification-grade or higher-performance steel grades, typically in engineering, machinery, energy, or other precision manufacturing applications.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SteelinnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUMIC partnered with Steelin to deliver steel market intelligence services in South Korea, combining CUMIC's steel supply chain expertise with Steelin's market intelligence capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• thyssenkrupp Materials Services: One of the world's largest materials distribution and service companies, offering carbon steel, stainless steel, and specialty alloys globally. Directly comparable to CUMIC in product breadth and international footprint, but at significantly larger scale and with warehousing/processing capabilities.
• Reliance Steel & Aluminum: Largest metals service center operator in North America with global sourcing capabilities across carbon, stainless, and alloy steels. Comparable to CUMIC as a multi-mill steel distributor serving diversified industrial end markets.
• Marubeni-Itochu Steel: Major Japanese steel trading house distributing carbon steel, stainless, specialty alloys, and processed products across Asia and globally. Comparable to CUMIC in product breadth and international distribution of mill-sourced steel.
• Voestalpine: Austrian integrated steel and metal processing group with global distribution of high-quality flat and long steel products. Comparable in serving automotive, construction, and energy customers with specialty-grade steel.
• Tata Steel: Global integrated steel producer with extensive distribution operations across India, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Comparable to CUMIC as a supplier of carbon and specialty steel to construction, automotive, and infrastructure customers internationally.

Direct peers

• Kloeckner Metals: Global multi-metal distributor combining trading, processing, and digital services for carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Closely comparable to CUMIC's model of multi-mill sourcing and broad customer base across Europe and the Americas.
• O'Neal Steel: US-based full-line metals service center distributing carbon steel, stainless, and alloy products to industrial customers. Comparable as a B2B steel distributor serving manufacturing and construction customers with value-added processing.
• Duferco: Swiss-headquartered global steel trading and distribution group with strong presence in Europe, Americas, and Asia. Highly comparable to CUMIC as a multinational steel trader sourcing from multiple mills and serving diverse geographies.
• Stemcor: London-based independent global steel trading company historically focused on distributing carbon and specialty steel products worldwide. Comparable to CUMIC's pure-play international steel trading model.

Regional players

• Hyundai Steel: South Korean integrated steelmaker with growing international distribution of automotive, construction, and specialty steel grades. Comparable in product mix to CUMIC, though primarily serves Asian markets and operates as a mill rather than pure trader.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CUMIC Steel