Following the Chinese New Year holiday, domestic copper cathode rod enterprises resumed production in an orderly manner, with the overall pace largely consistent with pre-holiday plans, except for a few individual enterprises. The resumption of work was concentrated, with most companies restarting operations between February 24 and 26, while the remaining enterprises are expected to resume production next week. The industry generally anticipates that regular production levels will not be fully restored until after the Lantern Festival. The specific details are as follows:
From the current progress of work resumption, although most enterprises have resumed operations, they have not yet returned to normal production pace. At this stage, the focus remains on digesting finished product inventories accumulated before the holiday. In terms of orders, the post-holiday market shows a clear divergence: downstream wire and cable industry, affected by the delayed full restart of end-user projects, has a slower resumption pace and fewer new orders, resulting in overall weak demand; meanwhile, the enamelled wire industry, supported by strong downstream demand, has relatively better operating conditions.
On the raw material procurement side, due to uncertainty in the market recovery pace, copper cathode rod enterprises have adopted a cautious approach overall, refraining from large-scale restocking operations for the time being. Raw material purchases are mainly limited to meeting essential production needs. The market is still waiting to observe consumption trends after the Lantern Festival, when production is expected to fully return to normal.
Overall, the work resumption pace in the copper cathode rod industry is in line with earlier plans. Post-holiday new orders are weaker YoY, and the market generally awaits the full resumption of downstream operations after the Lantern Festival before making further assessments. In the short term, weak demand from the wire and cable industry is suppressing overall demand, while stable demand from the enamelled wire sector provides support; the high prosperity in the copper foil industry has also drawn some market attention.
