[SMM Analysis] Demand on the rise, anode material production increased in May

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SMM News on June 3:

In May 2025, China's anode material production increased by 3.7% MoM and 21% YoY.

Cost side, the price of graphitisation tolling services declined slightly due to weak downstream demand. Meanwhile, the price of coke, a raw material, also faced downward pressure. The anode procurement demand from traditional industries remained sluggish, and insufficient market demand led to a significant downward trend in coke prices. Demand side, the production of battery cells in May reached 134.3 GWh, up 3% MoM. Amidst the dual benefits of rising downstream demand and slightly decreasing production costs, anode material enterprises seized the opportunity and actively adjusted their production strategies, achieving a MoM increase in production.

Looking ahead to June, the market situation is expected to undergo significant changes. With the implementation of the policy to cancel mandatory energy storage allocation and the fading of the auto show enthusiasm, the market expectations of downstream battery cell enterprises have changed, leading to a corresponding decrease in production schedules. A decline of 0.5% is anticipated. This contraction in demand will directly transmit to the anode material industry, affecting the production enthusiasm of anode enterprises. Based on comprehensive analysis, it is expected that the production schedules of China's anode enterprises will also decline in June, with a potential MoM reduction of 0.7%.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838
Rui Ma 021-51595780
Disheng Feng 021-51666714
Yanlin Lv 021-20707875
Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711
Haohan Zhang 021-51666752
Zihan Wang 021-51666914
Jie Wang 021-51595902
Yang Xu 021-51666760

Mengqi Xu 021-20707868