SHANGHAI, Feb. 29 (SMM) –Air conditioner producers, a major consumer of copper pipe/tube, are scaling back finished goods inventories based on sales volumes for January. This will definitely depress copper pipe/tube demand.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's air conditioner output for January was 5.582 million units, down 45.5% YoY. Sale volume for January was 7.054 million units, down 26.2%. It's noticeable air conditioner producers' production interest is cooling due to early high inventories, so cutting existing inventories have become their operation strategy. Relevant date shows domestic air conditioner inventories were 10.51 million units in January, down 8.9% YoY.
Inverter air conditioners are hopefully to become the major force in future air conditioner sales as their advantages in energy saving become pronounced. Hence, copper pipe-tube demand will experience slight changes this year.
SMM holds the view air conditioner producers' action of reducing finished goods inventories will depress copper pipe/tube demand, which, though, cannot be filled out by the emerging inverter air conditioner. From the production technique of domestic inverter air conditioner, there is no major difference in the use of copper pipe/tube with common air conditioner. However, it's an undisputable fact overall demand for copper pipe/tube will slide this year.
For queries, please contact Michael Jiang at michaeljiang@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn