It is understood that from August 14 to August 20, 2026, the weekly comprehensive operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises in SMM five provinces was 65.86%, up 2.95 percentage points WoW.
In mid-to-late August, enterprises that had reduced or suspended production earlier due to high-temperature holidays gradually resumed normal production. At the same time, as the traditional peak consumption season approaches, finished product orders for some e-bike and automotive battery enterprises improved, and a small production ramp-up occurred, with the ramp-up range of about 5%-10%, driving the weekly operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises to continue its uptrend this week.
However, the performance of the traditional peak consumption season is still not as good as previous years. Most enterprises stated that in 2026, the lead-acid battery market faces multiple factors such as lithium battery substitution, insufficient export cost advantages, and tariffs, leading to limited improvement in end-use consumption. Therefore, producers overall still maintain a produce-based-on-sales model, and enterprise operating rates are also lower than the same period last year.
![July imports of lead alloy showed strong resilience, while the import scale of other lead materials sharply contracted [SMM Analysis]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/yqTpQ20251217171721.jpeg)
