Weekly lead-acid battery makers operating rate fell 1.38 percentage points

SHANGHAI, Dec 27 (SMM) – Operating rates across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hebei provinces averaged 56.18% in the week ended December 27, down 1.38 percentage points from the previous week, showed SMM data.

Battery producers trimmed production or gave workers more time off after stocks of finished goods climbed with distributors cautious about procurement. Volatile lead prices and sluggish battery demand from end-users deterred distributors from aggressively stockpiling batteries.

Whether lead-acid battery distributors will ramp up stockpiling next week is a key thing to watch, as producers will begin to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday next month and delivery services to remote areas will halt around January 10 at the earliest.