The operating rates of copper wire and cable producers averaged 89.66% in May, up 4.13 percentage points month on month and 13.8 percentage points year on year. The average operating rate of large, medium-sized and small enterprises was 94.67%, 65.72% and 58.99% respectively. The average operating rate is estimated at 88.92% in June. Copper prices fell sharply in May, which stimulated the growth of new orders in various terminal industries.
Orders placed by real estate industry were still weak. Store dealers of major cable companies restocked actively, and orders from civil real estate and engineering sectors recovered. Orders from the State Grid showed a seasonal improvement. Some power grid maintenance projects boosted demand. In May, the ratio of finished product inventory to total output rose slightly by 0.33 percentage point in May. After the copper prices fell, some cable companies had finished product inventory exceeding the new orders. This, coupled with expectations of slower end-user demand, is likely to lower operating rates of cable factories in June.
