Operating Rates of Copper Foil Producers Averaged 79.18% in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 21 (SMM) – In March, the operating rates of the copper foil industry did not improve. Operating rates in the lithium battery copper foil industry still fell without factoring in the statistical cycle issue and the commissioning of new production capacity.

The operating rates of most motive battery and battery cell factories remained weak in March, who mainly working through their own inventory against poor new orders.

In addition, the prices of battery-grade lithium iron phosphate continued to fall sharply in March, and that caused default of orders and postponed delivery taking in the second half of March. The emerging impact of the subsidies and price reductions in various places for fuel-powered vehicles kept consumers on the sidelines.

 In terms of copper foil for electronic circuits, orders for charging piles related to new energy and photovoltaic inverters remained stable, but orders for durable goods such as consumer electronics as well as white and brown goods were still poor.