Holiday Factor Subsides, Lead-Acid Battery Operating Rate Rebounds but Falls Short of Pre-Holiday Levels [SMM Lead-Acid Battery Weekly Operating Rate Comment]

        According to reports, the SMM weekly comprehensive operating rate for lead-acid battery enterprises in five provinces was 70.77% from January 9 to 15, 2026, up 4.18 percentage points WoW.

This week, as the impact of the New Year's Day holiday completely subsided, lead-acid battery producers resumed normal production, and the weekly operating rate increased accordingly. However, it is worth noting that the current weekly operating rate of lead-acid battery producers has not returned to pre-holiday levels, mainly due to sluggish consumption in the e-bike lead-acid battery market, poor enterprise orders, and production enthusiasm lower than in December. The operating rate of medium and large enterprises ranged from 60% to 80%, with a few even considering early holidays before the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, orders for automotive batteries and ESS batteries remained relatively stable, and production at medium and large enterprises was moderate. However, due to changes in tariff policies, orders for some export-oriented enterprises were sluggish, resulting in significant differences in operating rates among producers.