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In recent years, the secondary lead industry in Jiangsu has developed rapidly, with an annual scrap processing capacity exceeding 2 million mt, accounting for approximately 19.5% of the national total. The upstream and downstream enterprises in the lead industry chain have shown significant interest in this. To help market participants better understand the market trends in waste lead-acid battery recycling, provide references for corporate pricing and settlement, and reduce transaction risks and costs, SMM has conducted in-depth market surveys and analyses. As a result, SMM plans to introduce three new price categories for waste lead-acid batteries in Jiangsu: Waste Lead Battery (Jiangsu), Waste Black Shell Battery (Jiangsu), and Waste White Shell Battery (Jiangsu), which will be officially implemented on March 14, 2025.
I. General Principles of SMM Price Assessment Methodology
Shanghai Metals Market (hereinafter referred to as SMM) is a completely independent third-party service organization that does not participate in any substantive transactions. It maintains close communication with buyers or sellers in the market as an observer or organizer and provides relevant services to the market. SMM continuously formulates, reviews, and revises its methodology through communication with industry participants, adopting the most common product specifications, trade terms, and conditions in the industry, and equally valuing normal transactions that meet specification standards. SMM reserves the right to exclude any price data deemed unreliable or unrepresentative from its price assessments.
SMM reports daily on the spot transaction prices in China's domestic spot market, commonly referred to as SMM prices. SMM prices are generated strictly according to specific methodologies. SMM defines the methodologies for the prices of all reported metal products. All methodologies and definitions are published on SMM's official website (www.smm.cn) to ensure that all market participants understand the processes and standards of SMMprice reporting.
The SMM price assessment methodology serves as the basis and foundation for SMM prices. To align with the actual conditions of the spot market, SMM will make necessary adjustments to the price assessment methodology. Any changes to the methodology will be announced on SMM's official website at least 30 days in advance. For any questions or suggestions regarding SMM prices or the price assessment methodology, please contact SMM customer service as listed on the website.
This document specifies the standards and management methods for the formulation of SMM waste lead-acid battery spot prices. The purpose of establishing this standard is to create a transparent and verifiable SMM price formulation mechanism, providing an important pricing benchmark for market participants.
II. Formation of SMM Waste Lead-Acid Battery Spot Prices
2.1. Definition
SMM waste lead-acid battery prices are formed and published by SMM based on this methodology. These prices are denominated in RMB/mt, inclusive of 3% VAT, and reflect the factory transaction prices of waste lead-acid batteries in the Jiangsu spot market on each working day.
2.2. Product Specifications
Waste EV batteries refer to waste lead-acid batteries used in electric bicycles with non-flowing acid solutions, abbreviated as "Waste Lead Battery."
Waste black shell batteries are a type of waste automotive starter lead-acid battery, generally referring to waste automotive batteries below 80Ah, mostly used in passenger vehicles. These are traded with acid but priced after deducting the liquid.
Waste white shell batteries are a type of waste automotive starter lead-acid battery, generally referring to waste automotive batteries above 80Ah, mostly used in commercial vehicles. These are traded with acid but priced after deducting the liquid. Reference standard: "Lead and Lead Alloy Scrap GB/T13588-2006."
2.3. Generation of Quotation Methods
SMM price submitters collect waste lead-acid battery quotations and related data from price submitter contacts via phone, QQ, WeChat, and other means daily from 9:40 to 11:30 (on each trading day, consistent with SHFE trading days). Price data submitted after 11:30 cannot be used as the basis for the day's price assessment. All instant messaging content, email communications, and any face-to-face communication records will be archived, and details of phone communications will be summarized and entered into the database. All paper records must be signed by the price submitters and retained permanently. SMM price analysts collect price data information based on price collection standards. The preliminary price data results are combined with the corresponding market's spot trends, futures trends, policies, industry conditions, market transactions, supply-demand relationships, inventory levels, and other major factors such as political, economic, and natural events to derive an initial raw data set.
SMM price analysts must comply with relevant SMM compliance policies when reporting any communication content from market participants that is coerced or threatened, or any attempts to influence assessment results through inducement.
2.4. Standardization of Information Data
SMM price analysts must standardize the preliminary data results:
Since waste lead-acid batteries contain a certain proportion of dilute sulphuric acid after being scrapped, such as waste automotive starter lead-acid batteries, which are traded with acid but priced after deducting the liquid. In actual transactions, buyers and sellers agree on price deductions based on the dilute sulphuric acid content, with the deduction standard being that the acid content in the sampling results does not exceed 16%. Black shell batteries are uniformly converted to liquid-deducted prices.
Formula: Liquid-Deducted Price = Liquid-Included Price / 0.84
VAT on the waste lead-acid battery market was implemented in March 2022. Since non-taxed transactions still exist in actual market transactions, non-taxed waste lead-acid battery quotations collected must include a 3% VAT rate.
Formula: Tax-Included Price = Non-Taxed Waste Lead-Acid Battery Price * 1.03
2.5. Price Publication
SMM waste lead-acid battery prices are published at 11:40 on each trading day on SMM's official website in both Chinese and English (excluding Chinese statutory holidays and weekends).
The deadline for price collection is 11:30 a.m., and the 10-minute period between 11:30 and 11:40 is used for data verification and final calculation of the published waste lead-acid battery spot prices. SMM encourages price submitters not to wait until the last minute to submit data to ensure that SMM price analysts have sufficient time to verify the data and include it in the valuation process. Publication times may also be affected by various emergencies and force majeure events, such as power outages and natural disasters. In such cases, SMM will make every effort to inform the market of the delayed price publication time as soon as possible. Prices published by SMM are available to any customer subscribing to SMM services. SMM prices are protected by copyright, and any third party without a clear agreement with SMM is prohibited from distributing or using them for commercial purposes.
III. Methodology Changes
All markets are subject to change, and SMM has the responsibility to ensure that its methodologies evolve in sync with the market. Therefore, SMM will conduct regular internal reviews of the appropriateness of its methodologies based on industry feedback and make modifications to address all substantive but non-urgent potential issues. SMM will follow a formal external consultation process, announce significant changes, and provide at least 28 days' notice, inviting industry participants to comment, except under special circumstances, particularly force majeure (natural disasters, wars, exchange bankruptcies, etc.), which may shorten the notice period. SMM is committed to carefully reviewing all comments on methodology changes but may, in some cases, have to make changes contrary to the wishes of some market participants. Additionally, SMM has a formal methodology consultation process.
SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. Lead & Zinc Division March 11, 2025
