China DMC production dipped by 6.97% MoM in November with more temporary maintenance

SMM data showed that Chinese DMC output dipped 6.97% MoM to 173,600 mt in November. The operating rate of the industry was down 5.62 percentage points MoM to 75.22% in November. The reasons for the output slip in November was falling downstream orders and domestic DMC plants’ low operating rate amid more temporary maintenance.
SMM believed that DMC output in December will mainly fluctuate slightly within a small range. December will see restart of some production lines from maintenance and start-up of new capacity, while current demand will be sluggish. Under this circumstance, inventory pressure will increase. Meanwhile, stable costs will exert higher pressure on DMC plants who suffered losses. Therefore, DMC plants will lower operating rate, or even temporarily shut down units.