According to SMM, the comprehensive operating rate of the copper plate/sheet and strip industry in June 2026 stood at 74.97%, down 1.58 percentage points MoM but up 8.19 percentage points YoY. The actual operating performance for the month was 0.46 percentage point higher than earlier market expectations. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 84.38%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 55.99%, and that of small enterprises was 70.72%.
Although the June operating rate of copper plate/sheet and strip pulled back slightly MoM, the overall performance was better than earlier market expectations. The core driver was the phased pullback in the copper price center, which effectively eased the downstream wait-and-see sentiment. Ordering enthusiasm among end-user enterprises improved noticeably, and most manufacturers' existing orders can support production schedules through late July. End-use demand exhibited strong structural resilience. While traditional sectors entered the seasonal off-season, demand from emerging industries such as AI computing centers, energy storage, 3C electronics, and new energy continued to trend positively, underpinning the overall industry performance. Among subcategories, demand for copper strip remained steady; orders for semiconductor lead frames and special copper strips for power transformers maintained a stable trend; and demand for various alloy plates/sheets and strips remained particularly robust, offsetting reductions from traditional end-users. Although the industry is no longer in the previously bustling state of full production, overall demand remained stable, weakening off-season characteristics.
In terms of inventory, as previously tight specifications were delivered in a concentrated manner, the tight supply situation gradually eased. SMM data showed that finished product inventory in the copper plate/sheet and strip industry stood at 5.11 days in June, up 0.04 day MoM, with overall inventories still not entering a high range.
July is the traditional demand off-season for the copper plate/sheet and strip industry. The seasonal weakening of demand from traditional end-use consumer sectors follows the pattern of previous years. However, rigid demand support from emerging sectors is sufficient this year, giving the industry strong operational resilience. Combined with the ample orders on hand accumulated by enterprises earlier, this can continue to support the production pace. SMM expects the operating rate of the copper plate/sheet and strip industry in July to be 74.46%, down 0.50 percentage point MoM and up 8.84 percentage points YoY. With emerging sectors continuing to drive momentum, the industry will exhibit a "stronger-than-usual off-season" operating pattern.
![End-User Just-in-Time Procurement Difficult to Recover, Tight Supply Pushes Up North China Discounts [SMM North China Spot Copper]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/DpfYZ20251217171714.jpeg)
