SMM News on August 8:
This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises stood at 48.42%, up 0.19 percentage points MoM. On the raw material side, affected by the continuous rise in zinc prices this week, enterprises faced increased procurement pressure, and raw material inventories declined slightly WoW. Regarding finished product inventories, the lower center of zinc prices at the beginning of the week prompted end-users to conduct a small amount of restocking, and the outflows from warehouses of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises improved somewhat. However, as prices rose, enterprises encountered difficulties in sales, and finished product inventories increased slightly MoM this week. The upward trend in the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises this week was mainly driven by the improvement in orders at the beginning of the week. Enterprises planning to switch to electric furnaces for production remained in normal production status, coupled with the production resumptions of some enterprises, which collectively boosted overall production and led to a slight increase in the operating rate. In terms of terminal orders, actual consumption this week still did not show significant improvement, mostly driven by low prices stimulating a small amount of restocking by end-users. Traditional hardware orders for the real estate sector, which account for a relatively large proportion, remained sluggish. If some enterprises encounter difficulties in sales next week, they will temporarily suspend production again. It is expected that the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises will decline to 47.93% next week.
