In December, home appliances remained sluggish, dragging down the operating rate of copper pipe & tube.

According to SMM data, the operating rate of copper pipe & tube enterprises was 63.82% in November, up 1.45 percentage points MoM but down 17.86 percentage points YoY. The operating rate of copper pipe & tube production increased slightly month-on-month, while still recording the largest YoY decline in recent years, mainly dragged down by air conditioner production schedules. Moreover, with copper prices continuing to rise, the high copper prices at the end of October further slowed the production scheduling pace of OEMs. Finished product inventories are currently maintained to support normal sales pace. Against the backdrop of no significant improvement in exports, copper pipe & tube operating rates are unlikely to improve.

SMM expects the operating rate of copper pipe & tube enterprises to be 67.09% in December, up 3.27 percentage points MoM but down 15.85 percentage points YoY. The operating rate is projected to continue its MoM rebound in December, with the YoY decline narrowing compared to November. According to ChinaIOL data, the production schedules for household air conditioners in December 2025 are 5.16 million units for domestic sales and 8.95 million units for exports, down 29.9% and 11.4% YoY, respectively. Due to the impact of US tariff hikes on copper pipe & tube, China's copper pipe & tube exports also showed a YoY decline in Q4.

Review of 2025: The operating rate of copper pipe & tube retreated after a rapid rise. During March-April, high home appliance production schedules and an export rush led to excellent performance in both copper pipe & tube production and exports. As the US imposition of additional tariffs on copper pipe & tube was gradually implemented, exports performed unsatisfactorily. Enterprises with overseas plants actively expanded capacity to cope with future market uncertainties.