Structural Demand Shifts in the Copper Market Highlight Recycled Copper’s Importance

March is the traditional peak season for the enamelled wire industry, and enterprises are generally optimistic about subsequent orders. Enterprises reported that the release of orders in the home appliance sector has been quite strong; current orders on hand are sufficient, and some models are in a tight “insufficient supply to fulfill shipments” situation. In addition, orders in the NEV and power transformer sectors also remained steady. Based on the current production schedule for orders, the operating rate of the enamelled wire industry is expected to rebound to 74.45 in March.

In February, the overall operating rate of copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises was 41.98%, down 28.04 percentage points MoM and down 14.49 percentage points YoY. Affected by the Chinese New Year holiday, the actual number of production days for copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises was relatively low, limiting capacity release. The operating rate showed a seasonal pullback, which is a normal performance during the Chinese New Year period and was broadly in line with market expectations.