[SMM analysis] the plate and strip industry has entered the off-season export reduction, resulting in a decline in the operating rate.

The overall operating rate of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises in June was 65.89%.

In June, the overall operating rate of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises was 65.89%, down 3.42 percentage points from the same period last year and 0.05 percentage points from the previous month. After entering the traditional off-season of plate and strip enterprises in June, most enterprises report that the number of orders began to decline, but the impact on June output is not significant, roughly the same as in May. Downstream orders, with the exception of the cable sector is relatively stable, the rest of the terminal consumption has weakened, and the export sector continues to be weak. Copper foil companies started better than in May, mainly from 5G base stations and other increments, but manufacturers also generally reported that orders for lithium electricity plate fell significantly after July, and the performance is expected to be lower than that in June.

The raw material inventory ratio of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises was 12.88% in June.

In June, the raw material inventory ratio of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises was 12.88%, a decrease of 1.45 percentage points compared with the previous month. With the rapid rise of copper prices in June, processing enterprises generally reduce the amount of procurement, raw material inventory can maintain the needs of production, so raw material inventory is lower than the previous month.

The operating rate of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises is expected to be 63.19% in July.

After entering July, both copper strip and copper foil manufacturers reported that orders continued to show signs of weakness, and the operating rate in July is expected to decline compared with June. According to the production scheduling plans of various enterprises, the operating rate of copper plate, strip and foil enterprises is expected to be 63.19% in July, down 2.70% from the previous month. (research enterprises: 21, production capacity: 1.35 million tons)