Copper pipe imports and exports from January to February increased significantly [SMM analysis]

According to customs data, 1,690.2 tons of copper pipes were imported in January 2024, and 1,739.9 tons of copper pipes were imported in February. The cumulative imports of copper pipes from January to February were 3,430 tons, a year-on-year increase of 35.5%. In January, copper pipe exports were 33,492.8 tons, and in February, copper pipe exports were 25,201.1 tons; from January to February, the cumulative exports were 58,693.9 tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%.

At the beginning of 2024, the import and export of copper pipes have shown high year-on-year growth; sales of air conditioners to overseas markets and domestic sales in 2024 increased.

By country, Thailand supplied most cargoes to China with a share of around 60%. This proportion shows that the domestic reprocessing trend of copper pipes imported from Thailand is growing, and domestic demand has also increased to a certain extent. In contrast, the proportion of exports to Thailand, the United States, Taiwan, and Indonesia is relatively even. It is worth noting that the demand in Indonesia and Malaysia has increased, surpassing Japan and approaching the United States in the proportion of copper pipe destination countries.

Among export destination countries, Malaysia accounted for less than 4%, while Russia and India increased their proportions. However, due to the Chinese New Year, the overall export volume in February was small.

In early 2024, the air-conditioning market still shows high production schedules. Companies are actively stocking up in anticipation of the peak season. The increase in overseas replenishment may make the annual export volume more than that in 2023. On the import side, the proportion of copper pipes imported by China from Thailand will remain high. Due to the improvement of domestic equipment production capacity and the increase in automation, the production cost of imported embryonic tubes from Thailand may be lower. Therefore, the copper pipe import and export data in 2024 may perform better than that in 2023.