At least 150 vessels containing a combined 75,000 tonnes of steel products have clogged up the Grand Canal near Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, because buyers refused to receive orders they had made before a sudden slump in prices, reported the Hangzhou-based newspaper Daily Business.

Spot steel prices in China fell sharply in the last two weeks of August after reaching a 10-month high early in the month after analysts said prices were ahead of levels that could be justified by domestic demand.

Some merchants who had ordered steel products in July in the expectation that prices would remain strong in August, failed to accept the now high-priced goods as they were being delivered. This led to unclaimed goods at the ports and in vessels, and a long line of carriers along stretches of the canal, unable to unload their cargo.