Smelters Resumed Operations in Large Numbers, Primary Lead Production Hit a Record High in March [SMM Analysis]

SMM March 31 News: In March 2025, the national primary lead production increased significantly, up 15.97 percentage points MoM and 13.41 percentage points YoY. The cumulative primary lead production from January to March 2025 rose 5.47 percentage points YoY. It is understood that in March, with the increase in working days, the production of primary lead smelters generally increased compared to February, which was the main reason for the production increment in that month. Among them, except for a few smelters in Yunnan, Henan and other regions that had equipment maintenance issues, the vast majority of other smelters resumed production after maintenance, including medium and large smelters in Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong and other regions. In addition, smelters in Hunan resumed production after completing equipment upgrades; due to the strong lead price, the production enthusiasm of some smelters increased, resulting in increased production, which pushed the primary lead production in March to a record high for a single month. Compared with the same period last year, the primary lead production in March 2025 and the cumulative production in Q1 both increased YoY, mainly due to the increment brought by new capacity and equipment upgrades, including medium and large lead smelters in Henan, Hunan, Qinghai and other regions. Looking ahead to April, the maintenance and resumption of primary lead smelters will coexist, and the production in April is likely to offset the increase and decrease, and is expected to be basically stable compared to March. In April, smelters in Hunan, Yunnan and other regions will continue to resume after maintenance, while large smelters in Henan will enter maintenance, almost eliminating the increment of primary lead in that month. At the same time, we need to pay attention to the impact of lead prices on the production enthusiasm of lead smelters. If the lead price pulls back significantly, it may lead to the expectation of smelters compressing production plans.