Full Order Books Accelerated Production, Operating Rate of the Brass Billet Industry Rebounded Steadily [SMM Brass Billet Market Weekly Review]

This week (3.6-3.12), the operating rate of the brass billet industry rose 8.72 percentage points WoW to 51.95%, with industry conditions continuing to rebound. According to enterprise feedback, overall orders were favorable, with Ningbo standing out in particular as order growth was significant and enterprises' production schedules were full; downstream traditional sectors such as hardware accessories and plumbing and sanitary ware had fully resumed work and production, with strong production enthusiasm. Meanwhile, orders from the refrigeration sector remained stable, continuing to support industry demand. In addition, copper prices pulled back to below 100,000 yuan/mt this week, boosting downstream purchase willingness to buy the dip and further driving order growth. Multiple positive factors pushed the operating rate steadily higher. On the inventory side, this week the industry had 4.23 days of raw material inventories and 5.06 days of finished product inventories, both returning to normal levels.

Looking ahead to next week (3.13-3.19), enterprises currently had sufficient orders on hand and were all operating at full capacity. Some enterprises that resumed work relatively late after the Chinese New Year were stepping up production and accelerating deliveries. Along with the continued recovery in downstream demand,SMM expects the operating rate of the brass billet industry to increase 2.82 percentage points WoW to 54.77% next week, and the industry's recovery momentum is expected to continue.