A survey of mainstream copper pipe & tube enterprises revealed a distinct "tiered" pattern in holiday arrangements, with business conditions varying significantly among companies:
Leading Enterprises Maintain Stable Production for Supply Assurance: Large enterprises with a capacity scale of 140,000-700,000 mt (such as Enterprise 1, Enterprise 2, and key enterprises in east China) demonstrated strong resilience, largely maintaining "non-stop production during the holiday" or taking only 0-3 days off. They ensured normal operations during the Chinese New Year period through shift rotations on production lines. Although orders experienced minor fluctuations of 2%-10%, the overall situation remained under control.
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Forced into Production Halts: Enterprises with relatively small capacity faced significantly extended holiday periods, generally lasting more than 4 days. Among them, some companies in south China and east China (such as Enterprise 8 and Enterprise 10), impacted by a YoY plunge in orders of 8%-50%, were compelled to implement extended production stoppages to avoid risks associated with high raw material prices, typically resuming furnace operations only after the fourth day of the new year.
Order Squeeze and Competition: Against the backdrop of copper prices exceeding 110,000 in January and a 7.5% YoY decline in Q1 production schedules for downstream air conditioners, leading home appliance manufacturers further concentrated their orders with large copper pipe & tube factories. This not only subjected small and medium-sized enterprises to seasonal production halts but also exposed them to intense competitive pressure from larger players regarding their market survival space.
According to communication between SMM and enterprises, air conditioner factories generally began holidays after February 12, with holiday durations ranging from 6 to 15 days. Excluding a few enterprises that experienced significant order reductions compared to 2025, most others saw declines within 10% YoY. Stockpiling for the Chinese New Year was basically completed by large enterprises; small and medium-sized enterprises completed about 70% of their stockpiling. Some small enterprises were still waiting for orders next week to proceed with stockpiling but were essentially prepared for the holiday.
