National Holiday Galvanising Enterprise Holiday Arrangements Enterprise Holiday Days Increase YoY [SMM Analysis]

Coinciding with the National Day holiday, market attention is focused on downstream enterprises' stockpiling and holiday schedules. SMM has gathered the following information on the holiday arrangements of galvanizing enterprises:
Approaching the National Day holiday, SMM surveyed galvanizing plants about their holiday plans for the October break. The survey covered 38 galvanizing enterprises with a total capacity of 25 million mt. According to SMM, some enterprises took holidays ranging from 1 to 8 days during the Labour Day holiday, while others chose to maintain normal production without a break during the October holiday. The average holiday duration was 3.15 days, resulting in an estimated impact on zinc consumption of approximately 7,232 mt, an increase of 2,464 mt compared to 4,768 mt in 2024.
SMM learned that in 2024, most enterprises opted for holidays during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and ahead of the National Day holiday, ferrous metals prices showed a strong upward trend, leading to favorable order shipments. However, in 2025, with the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays overlapping, most enterprises had scheduled breaks for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Additionally, ferrous metals prices remained in the doldrums, and pre-holiday stockpiling for galvanized pipe shipments fell short of expectations. As galvanized pipe enterprises are mostly large-scale plants with high finished product inventories, and with transportation constraints during the holiday, taking breaks helped prevent excessive inventory buildup.
In the structural components sector, orders for steel towers demonstrated strong resilience, and the State Grid is expected to launch a new round of steel tower project tenders in October, with particularly notable growth in ultra-high voltage steel towers. Some enterprises, eager to fulfill deliveries, had no holiday arrangements. Other orders, such as those for PV, bridges, and guardrails, fell short of expectations this year, leading to an overall pullback in demand.
On the export front, with a 90-day tariff buffer period still in effect, export orders performed moderately, and October is expected to remain relatively favorable. Overall, orders weakened YoY, and the average holiday duration increased YoY.
Regarding raw material inventories, zinc prices were in the doldrums overall in September, prompting significant restocking by downstream enterprises through point pricing, which noticeably raised raw material inventory levels. SMM will continue to monitor post-holiday resumption of operations after the October holiday.