On November 2, the Zhongyan Puhua Industry Research Institute released its interpretation of the "2026 Edition Global and China Alloy Steel Powder Industry Production, Sales, Trade Trends and Key Country Export Potential Insight Analysis Report," noting that the competitive focus of the alloy steel powder industry is shifting from cost per ton to oxygen content, batch consistency, and compatibility with printing processes. On the policy side, in the 2026 innovation tasks of the "open competition mechanism to select the best candidates" organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments, the special topic on frontier laser manufacturing technologies directly names additive manufacturing; four tasks focus on efficiency, ultra-high power, multi-wire in-situ alloying, and underwater repair, while humanoid robots, commercial aerospace, and the low-altitude economy are included in the application list. Sichuan's 15th Five-Year Plan lists additive manufacturing separately, with its first sentence proposing to "accelerate the development of high-performance metal powders"; Hunan explicitly incorporates 3D metal printing materials into the formulation of its provincial future industry plan. In terms of the competitive landscape, international giants Höganäs, Sandvik, and Carpenter build barriers through grade databases and aviation/automotive Tier 1 certifications; domestically, Luyin, Yitong, GRIPM Advanced Materials, and Yue'an form the first tier of water-atomized iron-based powders, while AVIMETAL, Vilory, Sailong, and Falcontech have made breakthroughs in vacuum gas atomization and plasma rotating electrode process (PREP) routes; equipment makers such as BLT and Farsoon produce their own powders, forming a closed loop of "equipment + materials + process package." On the demand side, automotive electrification is driving upgrades in specifications for powder metallurgy gears and soft magnetic alloy powders, humanoid robots are driving demand for 17-4PH and 316L steel powders for MIM, and commercial aerospace is moving toward powder consumables; low-end oversupply and high-end scarcity coexist, and the domestic substitution rate for key components such as high-temperature melting crucibles, supersonic atomization nozzles, and high-precision classification systems remains unsatisfactory. In terms of industry chain linkages, high-end alloy steel powders offer a premium window in terms of low oxygen, narrow particle size distribution, and batch stability; scenarios involving miniature robot gears and aerospace consumables prioritize MIM/LPBF grades such as 17-4PH and 316L; the closed-loop ecosystem of equipment makers is squeezing pure powder suppliers, and independent powder plants need to build barriers in certification and customization; domestic substitution of key atomization components constitutes the main line for cost reduction, and progress in certification of domestic high-end powders in automotive-grade and aerospace systems directly affects procurement paths. The report's procurement implications: high-end alloy steel powders with low oxygen, narrow particle size, and batch stability are in a premium window; as MIM and LPBF grades such as 17-4PH/316L scale up with robots and commercial aerospace, powder plants should treat certification systems and customization capabilities as their main barriers in competing with equipment makers' ecosystems.