SHANGHAI, Mar. 19 (SMM) – Average operating rate at Chinese copper tube/pipe producers fell to 74.44% in February, down from January’s 77.63%, according to SMM’s latest survey.

SMM conducted a survey of 20 copper tube/pipe producers with capacity totaling 1.36 million tpy in February.

Suning’s white paper for the air conditioning sector in 2014 predicts the sector will slow to 5% due to technological improvements, development of e-commerce, and new government energy-saving policies. With air conditioning enterprises now shifting their focus to energy savings, environmental protection, and smart air conditioning systems, leading manufacturers in the sector are also increasing production and demand for copper pipes. In this context, production at copper tube/pipe producers was less affected by the Chinese New Year holiday during February compared to other copper semis enterprises.

Operating rates at copper tube/pipe producers during March are expected to average 86.1% now that the sector’s high-demand season is here. However, slumping copper prices may affect short-term demand for copper tube/pipe at some air-conditioner manufacturers.