Operating Rate of Lead-Acid Battery Enterprises Rebounds Weekly, but Automotive Battery Consumption Performs Poorly [SMM Lead-Acid Battery Weekly Operating Comment]

        It was learned that the SMM five-province lead-acid battery enterprise weekly comprehensive operating rate for November 7–13, 2025, was 70.56%, up 1.34 percentage points WoW.

As factors such as equipment maintenance at some medium and large enterprises from late October to early November or voluntary production cuts/suspensions due to high lead prices were resolved, the weekly operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises continued to increase this week. However, during this period, end-use consumption in the automotive battery market remained sluggish, with dealers purchasing only as needed, and new orders at some medium and large enterprises weakened, prompting voluntary production cuts for destocking. Furthermore, since October, the price spread between domestic and overseas lead markets widened, with domestic lead material prices significantly higher than those in overseas markets. Coupled with factors such as tariffs, orders at lead-acid battery enterprises in regions like Zhejiang and Guangdong remained weak, with operating rates below 50%. Therefore, although the weekly operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises recovered, it did not fully return to the level seen in October.