August Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate Slightly Rises; Demand Recovery Quality Remains to Be Seen [SMM Analysis]

    In August 2026, the operating rate of the copper wire and cable industry was 70.45%, up 0.63 percentage points MoM and down 1.97 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 75.62%, medium-sized enterprises 47.63%, and small enterprises 51.21%.

    This month, copper prices swung wildly at highs, becoming the core variable constraining production operations in the wire and cable industry.During the mid-month price pullback, rigid demand orders previously suppressed by high prices were released in a concentrated manner, driving a marginal recovery in the industry's operating rate, but overall end-use demand fundamentals did not show substantive improvement. By end-use sector, the power grid segment maintained stable ordering, with medium-voltage orders performing relatively moderate, providing limited but critical bottom support for the operating rate. Demand from communications and new energy supporting sectors maintained a certain resilience, while construction and real estate chain demand remained weak, though engineering-type orders performed relatively moderate in August.

    In August, days of raw material inventories in the copper wire and cable industry decreased by 0.48 days MoM, while days of finished product inventories increased by 0.27 days MoM.During the month, copper prices stayed high, compounded by elevated spot premiums and an unfavorable futures price spread structure, leading wire and cable enterprises to adopt a cautious approach to raw material procurement, generally implementing purchasing as needed and restocking only for rigid demand. On the production side, priority was given to consuming existing raw material stockpiles, driving raw material inventory destocking. Meanwhile, downstream players were constrained by capital pressure from high copper prices, with the overall pace of cargo pick-up slowing down and procurement largely limited to rigid demand, hindering warehouse withdrawals of finished products and pushing finished product inventories to accumulate slightly.

    Looking ahead to September, SMM expects the operating rate of the copper wire and cable industry to rebound by 2.86 percentage points MoM to 73.31%, up 1.08 percentage points YoY.With the traditional peak season approaching, enterprises are generally watching for the actual landing of orders in mid-to-late September. The expected rebound in the operating rate is driven importantly by structural divergence: top-tier players, relying on stable existing orders plus incremental orders from emerging sectors, will drive the overall industry operating rate higher; while the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises remain cautious and wait-and-see about the recovery of traditional peak season consumption. Copper prices are still in a high range, and the extent of the industry's subsequent operating rate recovery will still require continuous tracking of the pace of copper price movements and the actual landing of end-use orders.