Rising Copper Prices Suppress Wire and Cable Orders, with Significant Divergence in Industry Operating Rates [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

This week (April 10–April 16), the SMM operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises was 69.43%, up 0.95 percentage points WoW. The stabilization in operating rates this week was mainly driven by orders from top-tier enterprises, while orders and operating performance of small and medium-sized enterprises remained relatively weak. Meanwhile, rising copper prices continued to suppress new orders. By sector, the power segment provided the primary support, with the core driver being State Grid placing orders; wire and cable demand from computing centers, AI, and other sectors also performed well, and new energy sector orders remained steady, though overall support was weaker than that from the power sector. Inventory side, enterprise raw material procurement remained driven by rigid demand. Some enterprises held bullish expectations for future copper prices and restocked in small batches at relatively low prices, resulting in a 1.08% WoW increase in raw material inventories this week. On the finished product side, some clients also had bullish sentiment, and coupled with State Grid placing orders and picking up goods, finished product inventories decreased slightly by 1.74%. Looking ahead to next week, elevated copper prices are expected to continue suppressing the release of new orders, and as earlier backlog orders gradually near completion, the operating rate is expected to pull back somewhat next week. However, successive order placements by State Grid are expected to provide a certain level of floor support for the industry. Therefore, SMM expects the copper wire and cable operating rate for next week (April 17–April 23) to decline 0.57 percentage points WoW to 68.86%.