SMM4 22: affected by the epidemic, the global consumer market has been affected to varying degrees. The impact of the outbreak on the consumer market in Europe and the United States in March has been gradually transmitted to domestic cell factories and cathode material factories. According to SMM, in May, it is expected that: 1) orders for the export of lithium cobalt acid materials to Japan and South Korea will be reduced by at least 30%; 2) domestic mobile phone shipments are not ideal, and the demand for lithium cobalt acid will be weakened; and 3) orders for lithium cobalt acid batteries to be exported to India will be reduced by about 30%.
Considering a sharp drop in export orders and plans for domestic handset manufacturers to cut production, demand for lithium cobalt could fall by 40 per cent in May, according to SMM customer feedback. At present, the feedback of the large cathode material factory is controllable, and the current expected reduction is less than 10%. The main reason is that the client side is more average, and the reduction rate of the large battery factory and mobile phone factory is different, which can decompose the risk. In addition, there is a small increment in demand for e-cigarettes and tablets, which also balances the reduction in some orders.
According to the survey, most lithium cobalt manufacturers reduced the operating rate in April compared with March. In May, it is expected that battery factory orders will continue to decline, and the impact of the foreign epidemic will gradually be transmitted to domestic cathode material plants. In May, the demand for lithium cobalt acid will decrease, and the cathode material factory may continue to lower the operating rate.
