SHANGHAI, Sep. 13 (SMM) - A recent SMM survey of 20 major domestic wire and cable producers (capacity: 889 kt) revealed the following insights: 
 
1) Operating Rates Improve
According to the recent SMM survey, the average operating rate at the 20 wire and cable producers was 84.7% in September, up 6.8% from 77.9% in August.  Producers in the survey told SMM that demand from the electric power industry for wire and cable has improved significantly since the beginning of September, mainly due to the acceleration of construction projects as the weather turns cooler.  In addition, wire and cable producers believe orders from the electric power industry should increase significantly during 2H 2010 since total investments in power grid projects for 2010 has already been made and since orders were down sharply in 1H 2010,  In other news, operating rates at producers in Jiangsu province were negatively affected by efforts by local authorities to cut energy use and  emissions, which caused some orders to be shifted to other regions without restrictions on electricity supplies.. 

2) Raw Material Inventories in September Flat with August Levels
The survey also shows that raw material inventories were 21.3% of consumption in September, flat with August levels.  No significant changes in raw material inventories on a monthly basis indicate downstream producers were generally making purchases on an as-needed basis when prices were higher.  In addition, most producers surveyed continued to take a wait-and-see attitude towards stock replenishment for the upcoming the National Day holiday in early October.  In general, large-scale stock replenishments start one week ahead of the holiday, but if copper prices move lower, downstream producers will enter the market now and make purchases

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