Sales promotions this week drove the operating rate to rebound, but market demand is gradually weakening [SMM Weekly Review of Wire and Cable Market]

Published: Jun 13, 2025 10:02

Save

This week (6.6-6.12), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 76.31%, up 0.22 percentage points MoM and 0.4 percentage points YoY, exceeding the forecast by 1.48 percentage points. The slight increase in the operating rate this week was mainly due to some enterprises actively introducing sales promotions to boost customers' purchase willingness in response to the pressure of weakening downstream demand, thereby driving their own operating rates to rebound beyond expectations. However, the operating rates of most enterprises still showed a downward trend, with the core constraint being that the weakening trend of end-use demand had not yet been fundamentally improved. This week, the finished product inventories of the sampled enterprises reached 22,310 mt. Although most enterprises adopted a "produce based on sales" strategy to flexibly adjust their production pace and effectively manage finished product inventories, the continuous sluggishness of downstream cargo pick-up led to a 1.13% MoM increase. Meanwhile, raw material inventories reached 17,090 mt, up 2.77% MoM. Affected by the copper price correction during the week, some enterprises carried out strategic small-scale raw material restocking operations. Observations across industries based on feedback from most enterprises showed that the order demand from the State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid still demonstrated strong resilience, and the demand for offshore wind power projects was also relatively stable. Overall, despite some enterprises currently implementing sales promotions to boost operating rates, they still struggled to withstand the pressure of gradually weakening end-use demand. Therefore, SMM expects that next week (6.13-6.19), the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises will decline by 0.53 percentage points MoM to 75.77%, 4.64 percentage points lower than the same period last year.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

17 hours ago

Chile's Water Crisis Threatens Atacama's Copper and Lithium Mining Amid 14-Year Drought

Chile’s most pressing crisis at present is the issue of water resources. The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest regions in the world and also the core area for copper and lithium ore extraction. The local area has experienced a drought for as long as 14 years, and reservoir storage has fallen to only about 30%. For miners, water resources are not a secondary issue, but an indispensable key production factor in such processes as ore processing, dust suppression, and equipment cooling. The decline in ore grade has further exacerbated the predicament

17 hours ago

Trump Adjusts Metal Tariffs, Applies 50% Rate to Consumer Prices Under Section 232, Details Unclear

US President Trump adjusted the national security tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, and copper, lowering the tariff rates on derivative products made from these metals, streamlining compliance procedures, and preventing the declared value of imports from being understated.A senior Trump administration official said that, under a proclamation signed by Trump, the US would continue to maintain a 50% import tariff on imports of metal commodities such as steel, aluminum, and copper pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1974, but would apply this rate to the price paid by US consumers. It is currently unclear how the selling price—and the resulting tariffs—would be determined.

17 hours ago

Barrick Confirms 2028 Production Target for Reko Diq Copper-Gold Project in Pakistan Despite Budget Concerns

Barrick Mining said that its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan still plans to achieve first production by the end of 2028.The project is a large-scale copper-gold project jointly developed by Barrick, the Pakistani government, and relevant joint venture partners, and is located in Balochistan, Pakistan. Although the company had previously warned that the capital budget previously disclosed for the project's two phases could face a significant increase, the 2028 production commencement target remained unchanged.

17 hours ago