Orders at copper processing enterprises improved

SHANGHAI, Apr 7 (SMM)—Wire and cable: Orders at cable companies have gradually picked up last week. Boosted by the start of infrastructure projects and other projects, orders at cable companies have recovered nearly 80%. Although the northern market has recovered slowly, many cable companies have recently received orders from the State Grid. With the depletion of downstream inventories and consumption improvement, orders for wire and cable companies are expected to increase after the Qingming Festival.

Copper rods produced with copper cathode: Demand from wires and cables has increased, growing new orders for copper rod companies last week. However, the current price difference between copper rods produced with secondary copper and with copper cathode  pressured copper rod companies using copper cathode as feedstock. The performance was much weaker compared to normal levels of previous years. In March, many copper rod companies using copper cathode had extremely high inventories, and some even chose to stop or reduce production to reduce the financial pressure. We understood that most companies have resumed production. Consumption of copper rods using copper cathode will also gradually improve on the back of bid solicitations by grid companies and the release of wire and cable demand.

Copper tube: The high season set in last week. According to the survey, many copper tube companies received large volumes of orders in late March, with a delivery period of up to 10 days. Supply has fallen short of demand. March to May is the peak season for copper tubes. Orders have exceeded the level of the same period in previous years despite high copper prices. Production schedules at air conditioning plants are also optimistic. According to SMM, the production schedules of major domestic air-conditioning companies in April increased by  33% year-on-year, higher than March. The operating rate of the entire copper tube industry is improving.

Enamelled wire: Orders of enamelled wire companies have not changed much, and the overall performance is good. The current orders are not as brisk as last year, but producers have maintained full production. Companies placed orders at lows, and demand remains strong.