SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) - The average operating rate of enamelled wire producers stood at 77.96% in March, up 3.76 percentage points YoY and 8.15 percentage points MoM, SMM survey showed. The reading was only 0.91 percentage point below the previous forecast of 78.87%. The average operating rates of large, medium-sized and small enterprises stood at 77.19%, 72.9%, and 66.44% respectively.
Downstream demand for enamelled wire recovered in March with the arrival of the traditional peak season. Orders from the auto industry increased considerably. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China’s automobile production jumped 27.4% MoM and 15.3% YoY to 2.58 million units in March. Orders from the home appliance industry also increased. Data from ChinaIOL showed that the planned output of household air-conditioner manufacturers was 17.51 million units in March, which was 8% higher than the actual production in the same period last year. In addition, the motor and transformer industries also maintained a good momentum. However, the export orders for enamelled wire continued to decrease in March due to sluggish overseas demand. Orders from the power tool industry did not improve.
