Dual Pressures Force Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Firms to Lengthen Chinese New Year Holidays

SMM News, February 5:

Approaching the 2026 Chinese New Year, SMM conducted communication and research on the pre-holiday break arrangements of domestic die-casting zinc alloy enterprises. This survey covered 20 enterprises, with a total annual capacity of 829,000 mt, involving a zinc consumption scale during the holiday period of approximately 45,548 mt.

According to the results, most die-casting zinc alloy enterprises plan to start their Chinese New Year break from late January to early February, with the resumption of work concentrated around the eighth day of the first lunar month or during the Lantern Festival. The duration of the enterprise holidays varies widely, ranging from 9 to 44 days, with an overall average break of 23.1 days, an increase of 1.1 days compared to the same period last year.

Notably, after the New Year's Day holiday, zinc prices surged beyond expectations, triggering significant fear of high prices in the downstream market. The anticipated pre-holiday stockpiling trend did not materialize as expected. End-user hardware factories, squeezed by high raw material costs and weak demand, generally reduced their purchase volumes, with some even opting for early shutdowns and holidays. As a result, many die-casting zinc alloy enterprises followed suit and joined the trend of taking early breaks. Additionally, the continuously widening price spread between copper and aluminum further increased enterprise production costs. Pressure from the raw material side forced TCs to rise, further suppressing end-user purchase willingness, and the pattern of weak supply-demand dynamics became increasingly prominent.