Industry High Prosperity Continues, China's Copper Foil Operating Rate Expected to Climb Again in May [SMM Analysis]

SMM May 11 News:

According to SMM, the operating rate of China's copper foil enterprises in April 2026 was 89.75%, up 0.16 percentage points MoM and up 18.24 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 93.55%, medium-sized enterprises 71.71%, and small enterprises 74.98%. By specific segment, the operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil was 88.43%, up 2.55 percentage points MoM and up 11.95 percentage points YoY; the operating rate of lithium battery copper foil was 90.43%, down 1.11 percentage points MoM and up 21.48 percentage points YoY. The overall operating rate of the copper foil industry in May 2026 is expected to rise to 91.48%.

Copper Foil Enterprise Operating Rate at 89.75% in April 2026

Industry prosperity remained strong in April, with both lithium battery copper foil and electronic circuit copper foil downstream segments gaining momentum. End-use demand, the ESS sector saw downstream stockpiling ahead of the "630" installation period, with some enterprises ramping up capacity on large battery cell production lines; power battery production also showed steady growth. The traditional consumer electronics industry entered its peak season, AI-related orders remained booming, boosting downstream stocking demand.

Copper Foil Shipments Rose in April

In April, the copper foil industry's finished product inventory/output ratio fell 0.5 percentage points MoM to 10.17%, and the raw material inventory ratio fell 0.36 percentage points MoM to 14.87%. Overall copper foil shipments in April increased 2.37% MoM, with lithium battery copper foil shipments up 1.40% MoM and electronic circuit copper foil shipments up 4.38% MoM. Overall shipments in May are expected to grow 2.91% MoM.

Copper Foil Industry Operating Rate Forecast to Rise to 91.48% in May 2026

SMM forecasts that in May 2026, the overall operating rate of copper foil enterprises will be 91.48%, up 1.74 percentage points MoM and up 19.32 percentage points YoY. The lithium battery copper foil operating rate in May is expected to be 92.55%, up 2.12 percentage points MoM and up 22.16 percentage points YoY. The electronic circuit copper foil operating rate in May is expected to be 89.42%, up 0.98 percentage points MoM and up 13.81 percentage points YoY.

Power and ESS battery production schedules in Q2 are expected to stay high, with growth potentially accelerating further in May. The continued boom in AI-related orders is driving some copper foil capacity to shift toward high-end applications, and under the current peak season effect, stockpiling sentiment in the consumer electronics industry continues to rise. The copper foil industry as a whole shows a trend of both volume and price increases, and the operating rate of copper foil enterprises in May 2026 is expected to exceed 90%.