Off-Season Trend Continues, Lead-Acid Battery Enterprises Generally in Production Cuts Mode [SMM Lead-Acid Battery Weekly Operating Comment]

According to SMM, the weekly comprehensive operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises across five provinces was 66.87% during May 15–21, 2026, up 0.24 percentage points WoW.

Currently, the lead-acid battery market remains in the traditional consumption off-season, with weak demand in markets such as e-bikes and automotive batteries. Dealers were cautious in procurement. Apart from a few enterprises that had more holidays in the first half of the month and recently resumed normal production, the vast majority of enterprises were generally in a state of production cuts or further cut production. Overall, production increases and decreases among lead-acid battery enterprises largely offset each other, and the operating rate fluctuations were relatively small.