Galvanizing enterprises have mostly gone on holiday, and operating rates have significantly declined [SMM Galvanizing Weekly Review]

SMM February 12: This week, the operating rate of the galvanizing industry was 16.25%, down 22.35 percentage points WoW. Raw material side, zinc prices mainly fluctuated, but most downstream enterprises were on holiday, focusing on price fixing with minimal cargo pick-up. However, major producers received long-term contract zinc ingots early in the week, leading to a slight increase in zinc ingot inventories at galvanising enterprises. The decline in the operating rate was mainly due to the Chinese New Year holiday. Most large producers maintained zinc pot temperatures around Xiaonian and halted production for the holiday. Except for some small and medium-sized plants with post-holiday delivery orders following the statutory holiday schedule, galvanising enterprises basically completed their holidays around Xiaonian, resulting in a significant drop in the operating rate. End-users were mostly on holiday, and long-distance transport vehicles gradually ceased operations, leading to a slight increase in finished product inventories at galvanising enterprises. Given the holiday pace of galvanising enterprises, the operating rate is expected to continue declining to around 0.41% next week.