【SMM Analysis】Separator Market Demand Showed a Significant Rebound in March

SMM, April 2: In March, lithium battery separator production increased by 13% MoM and 46% YoY. By process, wet-process separator production rose by 12% MoM and 50% YoY, while dry-process separator production grew by 20% MoM and 33% YoY. Demand side, with the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, downstream battery cell manufacturers fully resumed operations, driving a rapid rebound in lithium battery separator market demand. Supply side, the industry showed significant structural differentiation: for dry-process separators, most companies were deeply mired in price wars, operating at a loss, and since the beginning of the year, based on cost pressure, they have successively released strong upward sentiment, with market prices showing a steady rebound trend. The market share of wet-process separators continues to increase, driven by demand from NEV and ESS, but with continuous capacity expansion in the industry, it has long been in a state of oversupply. The current supply-demand imbalance has triggered downward price pressure, with some companies showing signs of loosening product quotes. In April, the lithium battery separator market is expected to remain stable with growth, as downstream battery cell manufacturers' demand for main material separators continues to increase, and lithium battery separator companies' production schedules are expected to rise accordingly, potentially increasing by 7% MoM. SMM New Energy Research Team: Cong Wang 021-51666838, Xiaodan Yu 021-20707870, Rui Ma 021-51595780, Disheng Feng 021-51666714, Yujun Liu 021-20707895, Yanlin Lyu 021-20707875, Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711, Haohan Zhang 021-51666752, Zihan Wang 021-51666914, Xiaoxuan Ren 021-20707866, Jie Wang 021-51595902, Yang Xu 021-51666760, Zhaoyu Wang 021-51666827.