SHANGHAI, Sep 20 (SMM) – Chinese lead-acid battery producers swung into a higher gear this week, as workers returned from the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and also orders grew after authorities loosened their restrictions on motorcycles this month and a high season for electric tricycles began.

An SMM survey showed that operating rates across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hebei provinces averaged 55.85% in the week ending September 20, up 3.77 percentage points from the prior week, when some plants gave their works one or two days off for the holiday. The rate rose in seven of the last nine weeks.

Chinese authorities removed taxes on purchases of electric motorcycles and light electric motorcycles from July 1, which also helped boost demand.

SMM learned that most lead-acid battery producers plan to suspend for a maximum of three days during the National Day holiday, while some even will not take a break at all. This drove them to stockpile lead ingots, the feedstock for batteries, this week.