August Copper Foil Operating Rate Overall Rebounded; Lithium Battery Copper Foil and Standard Foil Showed Differentiation [SMM Analysis]

According to the SMM survey, the operating rate of copper foil enterprises in August 2024 was 68.73%, up 2.45 percentage points MoM, down 16.60 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 72.37%, medium enterprises 56.93%, and small enterprises 60.17%. Specifically, the operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil was 68.48% (down percentage points 4.54 MoM, down 16.87 percentage points YoY) and the operating rate of lithium battery copper foil was 68.87% (up 6.26 percentage points MoM, down 16.70 percentage points YoY). The overall operating rate of the copper foil industry is expected to rise to 70.03% in September. (Survey coverage: 35 companies, 58 production bases, total capacity: 1.5156 million mt)

August Copper Foil Operating Rate Was 68.73%

In August, the overall operating rate of domestic copper foil enterprises rebounded, but the operating rates of lithium battery copper foil and electronic circuit copper foil enterprises showed a differentiation trend. Specifically, the rise in the operating rate of lithium battery copper foil was mainly due to the recovery of end-user orders. In the NEV market, car manufacturers' previous auto inventories were digested, and they began to stock up for the "September-October peak season", increasing the demand for anode materials. In the energy storage sector, the number of project bids increased in August, similarly driving the recovery of demand. In contrast, the operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil enterprises declined due to multiple factors. On one hand, high temperatures affected storage conditions; on the other hand, orders from most end-user sectors were weak, especially in the consumer electronics sector, which was in the off-season, with only high-end server-related orders performing well. Additionally, as copper prices continued to fall in August, downstream purchase willingness weakened, and pre-stocking during the price rise in Q2 also depleted some demand.

August Copper Foil Industry Raw Material and Finished Product Inventory Slightly Increased

Although the finished product inventory/output ratio of the copper foil industry in August decreased by 0.36 percentage points MoM to 19.50%, the production increase was relatively more significant. Due to the drop in copper prices, the raw material inventory/output ratio rose by 0.03 percentage points MoM to 18.54%.

September Copper Foil Industry Operating Rate Is Predicted to Rise to 70.03%

SMM predicts that the overall operating rate of copper foil enterprises will reach 70.03% in September 2024, up 1.30 percentage points MoM, down 12.61 percentage points YoY. The operating rate of lithium battery copper foil is expected to be 69.10% in September (up 0.23 percentage points MoM, down 13.20 percentage points YoY), and the operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil is expected to be 71.74% in September (up 3.26 percentage points MoM, down 11.95 percentage points YoY). For lithium battery copper foil, new orders are expected to continue growing steadily. For electronic circuit copper foil, as high temperatures gradually subside and domestic and international holidays approach, the industry will gradually emerge from the off-season, with new orders expected to rebound, driving the operating rate of enterprises to rise.