SMM February 6 News:
According to SMM, the operating rate of Chinese copper foil enterprises reached 88.56% in January 2026, up 0.36 percentage points MoM and up 21.44 percentage points YoY. Specifically, the operating rate for large enterprises was 92.23%, for medium-sized enterprises 71.50%, and for small enterprises 73.38%. By sector, the operating rate for electronic circuit copper foil was 84.57%, up 0.45 percentage points MoM and up 13.67 percentage points YoY; the operating rate for lithium battery copper foil was 90.66%, up 0.31 percentage points MoM and up 25.48 percentage points YoY. The overall operating rate for the copper foil industry in February 2026 is expected to pull back to 85.03%.
Copper Foil Enterprise Operating Rate Hits 88.56% in January 2026
The copper foil industry's operating rate got off to a good start in January 2026, marking the ninth consecutive month of increase. On one hand, copper prices continued to climb, prompting downstream orders; on the other hand, as the Chinese New Year period approached, downstream sectors gradually engaged in stockpiling. End-use demand side, power battery demand experienced a seasonal pullback; the ESS sector maintained high sentiment, showing a stronger-than-usual off-season. Driven by the grid connection deadline (June 30) and overseas demand, battery production increased slightly MoM; new national subsidy policies supported consumer electronics demand, while high-end sectors like AI servers remained hot.
Copper Foil Shipments Grow in January
Due to pre-holiday stockpiling by enterprises, the finished product inventory/output ratio for the copper foil industry rose 1.00 percentage points MoM to 11.03% in January, while the raw material inventory ratio increased 0.33 percentage points MoM to 15.07%. Overall copper foil shipments grew 0.61% MoM, with lithium battery copper foil shipments up 0.55% MoM and electronic circuit copper foil shipments up 0.74% MoM.
Copper Foil Industry Operating Rate Forecast to Pull Back to 85.03% in February 2026
SMM expects the overall operating rate for copper foil enterprises to be 85.03% in February 2026, down 3.53 percentage points MoM but up 17.38 percentage points YoY. The lithium battery copper foil operating rate is projected at 87.99%, down 2.67 percentage points MoM and up 21.15 percentage points YoY. The electronic circuit copper foil operating rate is forecast at 79.42%, down 5.16 percentage points MoM and up 10.21 percentage points YoY.
SMM anticipates that the operating rate of Chinese copper foil enterprises will pull back in February due to the Chinese New Year period. During the holiday, some downstream enterprises halted production, and demand expectations across end-use sectors are projected to decline. However, post-holiday downstream demand is expected to recover quickly. In March, the power battery industry will enter the peak production scheduling phase for Q1, and ESS battery production is set to increase further. Since 2025, sentiment in the copper foil industry has continued to rise. Supported by optimistic end-use demand expectations, the industry's operating rate in Q1 2026 remains significantly higher than the same period in previous years.
