Terminal orders remain stable, while operating rates of copper foil enterprises increase slightly [SMM Analysis]

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    According to SMM,in May 2025, the operating rate of copper foil enterprises was 72.16%, up 0.65 percentage points MoM and down 0.11 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 75.86%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 52.38%, and that of small enterprises was 66.11%. Specifically, in different fields, the operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil was 75.61%, down 0.87 percentage points MoM and 6.02 percentage points YoY, while the operating rate of lithium battery copper foil was 70.39%, up 1.44 percentage points MoM and 3.21 percentage points YoY. It is expected that the overall operating rate of the copper foil industry will continue to climb slightly to 71.70% in June 2025.

In May 2025, the operating rate of copper foil enterprises was 72.16%

    In May 2025, terminal orders showed steady growth, and the price of copper foil processing fees remained stable. According to the Q1 2025 financial reports,publicly listed copper foil firms have turned from losses to profits or significantly narrowed their losses. Therefore, some large enterprises continued to release capacity, leading to a slight overall increase in the operating rate of the copper foil industry. Specifically, in terms of lithium battery copper foil, orders from the power sector grew steadily, and orders from the ESS sector were boosted by the concentrated grid connection during the "531" period. For electronic circuit copper foil, the consumer market was in a seasonal peak season, and there were still rush-to-export activities amid uncertainty over tariffs. In addition, the rise in the copper price center in May also drove some stockpiling demand.

In May, raw material and finished product inventories in the copper foil industry increased slightly

    In May, the finished product inventory/output ratio in the copper foil industry rose 0.68 percentage points MoM to 17.27%, and the raw material inventory/output ratio rose 0.06 percentage points MoM to 17.00%. In May, downstream orders in the copper foil industry showed stable performance overall, and new orders in June are expected to remain stable. The capacity utilization rate of copper foil enterprises increased, and raw material and finished product inventories increased slightly.

The operating rate of the copper foil industry in June 2025 is forecast to rise slightly to 72.70%

    SMM expects that in June 2025, the overall operating rate of copper foil enterprises will be 72.70%, up 0.54 percentage points MoM and 0.67 percentage points YoY. It is expected that the operating rate of lithium battery copper foil in June will be 70.93%, up 0.54 percentage points MoM and 3.76 percentage points YoY. The operating rate of electronic circuit copper foil in June is expected to be 76.16%, up 0.55 percentage points MoM and down 4.79 percentage points YoY.

    SMM expects that the operating rate of copper foil enterprises will continue to rise slightly in June, mainly because some copper foil enterprises will continue to release capacity amid relatively stable overall performance of terminal orders in Q2. From the perspective of specific segments, in the lithium battery copper foil sector, orders from the power sector are expected to remain stable. In the ESS sector, as the grid connection deadline has passed and under the influence of the policy to cancel "mandatory energy storage allocation," orders may decline. In the electronic circuit copper foil sector, as the peak consumption season gradually transitions to the off-season, there is a slight trend of weakening demand. However, overall, there is no significant expectation of a decline in demand.

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