Average operating rate at copper foil plants to rise further in August

In order to improve the accuracy of survey data and better serve industrial customers, SMM broadened copper foil samples in August 2023. The annual capacity of SMM copper foil survey sample expanded from 1.13 million mt to 1.22 million mt, and the sample coverage rate increased from 85% to 93%. The number of enterprises increased from 30 to 36.

The operating rates of copper foil enterprises stood at 82.22% in July, up 4.91 percentage points month on month and 1.68 percentage points year on year. The average operating rate of large, medium-scale and small enterprises stood at 81.25%, 83.47% and 83.77%, respectively. The average operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil producers dropped 0.04 percentage point month on month to 76.33%, while that of lithium battery copper foil producers climbed 8.07 percentage points month on month to 85.93%. The average operating rate is estimated at 85.82% in August. (Notes: SMM surveyed 36 producers with a combined capacity of 122 million mt/year.)

From the perspective of lithium battery copper foil industry, the ramp-up of brownfield projects and growth in domestic new orders in July accounted for the surge in operating rates. In the off-season of July, copper plate/sheet plants restocked inventories due to concerns over further gains in copper prices, limiting the drop in operating rates of electronic circuit copper foil producers.