Die-casting zinc alloy operating rates trend lower, expected to decline further next week [SMM die-casting zinc alloy weekly review]

This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy producers recorded 45.57%, down 1.84 percentage points WoW. Inventory-wise, most alloy plants expect production shutdowns next week due to the holiday. Concerned about hindered transportation during the holiday, some die-casting zinc alloy enterprises engaged in stockpiling and cargo pick-up during the week, driving inventory higher. The decline in this week's operating rate was mainly due to maintenance at some enterprises during the week, which dragged down the overall operating level. In addition, some small and medium-sized enterprises have recently been affected by high prices, with weaker order performance and voluntary production cuts, also weighing on operating rates. From the perspective of end-user orders, affected by high prices, demand across end-user sectors was mainly just-in-time procurement, with limited pre-holiday stockpiling in the hardware sector. Next week, with the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, most die-casting zinc alloy enterprises expect production shutdowns. As a result, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy producers is expected to decline to around 38.11%.