Copper Wire and Cable Production Contracted During Holiday, YoY Market Remained Sluggish [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

This week (May 1–May 7), the SMM copper wire and cable enterprise operating rate was 63.23%, down 2.67 percentage points WoW and down 20.26 percentage points YoY. The decline was mainly dragged down by production cuts and shutdown for compensatory rest during the Labour Day holiday. During the same period last year, the concentrated PV installation rush combined with a sharp drop in copper prices boosted demand, resulting in a high base for operating rates, making this year's YoY performance relatively weak. By sector, orders across categories remained stable this week, with State Grid and Southern Grid orders still relatively sluggish, while power orders, construction project orders, and submarine cable orders all remained steady. Inventory side, raw material inventory decreased 4.89% WoW due to consumption of pre-holiday stockpiling; finished product inventories decreased 3.09% WoW as enterprises reduced production schedules during the holiday. Next week, enterprises are expected to gradually resume normal production after the holiday, and with stable orders across sectors, the operating rate is expected to rebound. However, rising copper prices after the holiday have intensified wait-and-see sentiment among downstream purchasers, limiting the upside. SMM estimates that next week (May 8–May 14), the copper wire and cable operating rate will increase 3.73 percentage points WoW to 66.96%, down 16.43 percentage points YoY.