The operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises has increased for three consecutive weeks! End-user demand is steadily recovering [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review].

This week (4.11-4.17), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 87.71%, up 3.04 percentage points WoW and 10.44 percentage points YoY, but 2.27 percentage points lower than the expected rate. As copper prices fell last week, most enterprises saw a surge in orders, which can support their production in the near term. Although new orders this week decreased significantly WoW, many enterprises reported growth compared to earlier periods. By industry, recent orders from the two grids were concentrated, and April tenders are ongoing; PV orders remain sufficient but are showing signs of slowing, with policy support nearing its end; submarine cable and high-voltage orders are both sufficient; civil real estate orders remain weak; rail transit orders have recovered WoW but are still lower than the same period in previous years. As current orders on hand for copper wire and cable enterprises are sufficient, and end-use demand continues to recover and grow, especially with recent orders from the two grids becoming the main source of new orders, SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises to increase by 4.3 percentage points WoW to 92% next week (4.18-4.24).