According to SMM, the overall operating rate of copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises in December 2025 was 68.21%, down 0.17 percentage points MoM and down 6.09 percentage points YoY. The industry's production pace did not meet year-end expectations. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 76.95%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 54.21%, and that of small enterprises was 59.02%.
The industry typically enters a traditional phase of production ramp-up and volume expansion at year-end, but actual production progress was constrained by multiple factors, with the sharp and rapid rise in copper prices being the core driver. SMM data showed that the average spot price of copper in December 2025 reached 93,236 yuan/mt, up 6,734 yuan/mt MoM, an increase of 7.7%. Against this backdrop, downstream end-users' capacity to absorb high-priced raw materials was severely insufficient, leading to a significant contraction in order volumes, which directly impacted the production schedules of copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises. At the same time, high copper prices substantially increased enterprises' raw material procurement costs and capital occupancy rates. Under the dual constraints of shrinking downstream demand and financial pressure, both the willingness and ability of copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises to ramp up production and expand volumes at year-end significantly declined, ultimately resulting in weak performance in the industry's operating rate.
From the perspective of product structure, demand-side analysis revealed a clear divergence: demand for alloy copper strip remained relatively stable, primarily supported by rigid procurement needs in downstream high-end equipment, semiconductors, and other sectors. In contrast, orders for copper strip and brass strip both declined to varying degrees, with order contraction being relatively more pronounced in end-use sectors such as low-voltage electrical appliances, shielding strips, PV, and decorative hardware.
In terms of inventory performance, the days of finished product inventories for copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises rose to 5.95 days in December, an increase of 0.24 days MoM, reflecting a slowdown in product destocking speed due to shrinking downstream orders. Against the backdrop of high copper prices, enterprises adopted more cautious raw material procurement strategies due to capital control needs, driving the days of raw material inventories down to 4.25 days, a decrease of 0.28 days MoM.
Entering January, copper prices continued to hit record highs, pushing end-market absorption capacity to its limits. Some downstream enterprises even planned to start the Chinese New Year holiday early, with the industry overall exhibiting a "lying flat" stance. In this context, operational pressures on copper plate/sheet and strip enterprises increased sharply. On one hand, high copper prices continued to suppress the release of new orders, with order volumes dropping significantly at the beginning of the month. Coupled with the absence of any production ramp-up plans for the month, enterprises' production schedule expectations declined accordingly. On the other hand, adjustments to policies related to secondary copper resulted in enterprises producing tin-phosphor bronze strip facing dual challenges of difficult raw material procurement and substantially rising costs, and they have already begun reducing production volumes. Additionally, some enterprises planned year-end equipment overhauls, which also impacted actual production in January to some extent. SMM expects the operating rate for the copper plate/sheet and strip industry to continue pulling back to 67.2% in January.
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