Zinc Oxide Plants Gradually Resume Production, Operating Rates Expected to Exceed 40% Next Week [SMM Zinc Oxide Weekly Review]

       This week, the operating rate for zinc oxide recorded 19.76%, down 14.07 percentage points WoW compared to the last week before the holiday. Inventory side, after the holiday, upstream and downstream enterprises of zinc oxide gradually resumed production, with some manufacturers delivering pre-holiday downstream orders, leading to a reduction in finished product inventories; raw material side, enterprises mainly consumed pre-holiday stockpiling, coupled with logistics not fully restored, resulting in a slight decrease in raw material inventory. Order side, in the first week after the holiday, downstream industries such as terminal tires and ceramics were still in the stage of resuming work and production, with overall consumption demand remaining weak, so most operating zinc oxide enterprises during the week focused on gradually increasing production. The lower operating rate this week compared to pre-holiday was mainly due to some enterprises not yet restarting operations, while those that resumed production also failed to operate at full capacity. Looking ahead to next week, as downstream consumption is expected to gradually recover, the operating rate in the zinc oxide industry is projected to continue rising, rebounding to around 46.35%.