"Waste EV Battery Arrivals Surge in Central China, Smelter Receives Up to 2,500 mt Daily"

[Waste lead-acid battery market dynamics] According to an SMM survey, arrivals of waste EV batteries in central China have increased significantly recently. As of now, the daily number of waste EV vehicles queuing for unloading in central China is around 150 units, with daily arrivals at a single smelter reaching as high as 2,000-2,500 mt, indicating concentrated short-term arrivals.

The survey shows that this increase in arrivals was mainly driven by two factors: first, some smelters launched limited-time price-guaranteed procurement strategies; second, after the earlier pullback in lead prices, the release of inventory from retail outlets also improved, and recyclers' selling sentiment shifted from wait-and-see holding back from selling to active selling. A recycler in east China reported that daily recycling volume over the past two days reached 150-200 mt, up about 40-50% from the earlier daily recycling volume.