According to SMM, the comprehensive operating rate of the copper strip industry in August 2026 stood at 73.39%, down 1.15 percentage points month-on-month but up 7.51 percentage points year-on-year. Among them, the operating rate of large-sized enterprises was 83.22%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 55.46%, and that of small-sized enterprises was 64.95%.
In August, the copper strip industry was weighed down by high copper prices and the consumption off-season, leading to a modest decline in the operating rate, although year-on-year performance remained satisfactory. As the traditional consumption off-season for copper strip, the industry exhibited pronounced product-segment differentiation during the month. End-user demand from computing power, energy storage, new energy supporting industries, transformers, and integrated circuits showed overall positive momentum, providing strong rigid demand support for copper strip, with both purple copper strip and alloy strip benefiting from this trend. Notably, purple copper strip demonstrated an "off-season not weak" pattern: although elevated copper prices suppressed downstream procurement and new orders contracted—with instances of order-grabbing through price cuts in the market—enterprises organized production relying on orders booked earlier, with order books mostly covering production through mid-to-late September, demonstrating that rigid demand retains resilience. Alloy strip downstream demand performed impressively, with most enterprises maintaining full-production operations. In contrast, brass strip and bronze strip faced intrinsically weak off-season end-user demand, compounded by tight supply of invoice-bearing scrap copper as raw material, prompting some enterprises to opt for production cuts.
On the inventory front, the copper strip market saw ample supply in August, with most enterprises' inventory levels returning to a reasonable range. SMM data showed that finished goods inventory days of the copper strip industry in August stood at 5.49 days, up 0.08 days month-on-month, with the industry's overall inventory remaining at a normal level.
SMM forecasts the comprehensive operating rate of the copper strip industry in September at 73.54%, up 0.15 percentage points month-on-month and up 7.52 percentage points year-on-year. In September, the traditional off-season approaches its end, with market expectations of demand picking up. Purple copper strip is supported by earlier order backlogs, with production scheduling running at sufficient levels; brass strip and bronze strip, while expected to see marginal demand improvement, remain constrained by tight supply of invoice-bearing scrap copper as raw material, with enterprises only expecting modest growth in production scheduling. Overall, rigid demand from computing power, energy storage, new energy, transformers, and integrated circuits forms the floor of support, while high copper prices also exert a phased impact on demand and continue to suppress the release of new orders. Considering these factors comprehensively, the industry's operating rate in September is expected to edge up modestly, while year-on-year growth remains at a relatively high level.
![Copper Plate/Sheet and Strip: Copper Prices and Off-Season Weigh on August Operating Rates; YoY Performance Still Strong Supported by Rigid Demand [SMM Analysis]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/HaNSH20251217171714.jpeg)
