Operating rates at lead-acid battery makers steadied on weak consumption

SHANGHAI, May 29 (SMM) – Operating rate across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hebei provinces averaged 63.67% in the week ended May 29, unchanged from the previous week, showed an SMM survey.

End-users need for replacing lead-acid batteries remained subdued. Producers of electric bicycle batteries and auto batteries continued their sales promotion while distributors withheld from purchasing amid pessimistic prospects and slow declines in their own inventories. Battery companies of medium and small scale are mostly running at a rate of 50-70% while large-scale producers operate at a higher rate. 

Battery producers not in the SMM survey sample, such as plants in Guangdong and Fujian, took a break for 2-3 days per week, pressured by sluggish export orders and high inventories of finished products. 

Some large-scale, listed companies will likely cut their monthly planned output in June, following after they ramped up production to meet output targets for the first half of the year.