This week (1.3-1.9), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 69.31%, down 8.59 percentage points MoM, 9.1 percentage points lower YoY (24.1.5-24.1.11), and 9.24 percentage points below the expected operating rate. According to SMM, the market demand backlog caused by payment cycle issues before New Year's Day has not been released after entering 2025. End-user purchasing sentiment remains sluggish, and most downstream enterprises are unwilling to invest significant funds in copper wire and cable procurement before the Chinese New Year. As a result, the incremental growth of new orders for wire and cable enterprises is gradually decreasing, showing a seasonal weakening trend. Some enterprises told SMM that due to the earlier timing of the Chinese New Year this year, market orders have significantly weakened after New Year's Day, and the Chinese New Year break for enterprises may be 1-2 days longer than in previous years. From the inventory perspective, this week, a few copper wire and cable enterprises increased production to replenish finished product inventories, while most wire and cable enterprises made minimal adjustments to finished product and raw material inventories. As the Chinese New Year approaches, workers will gradually go on leave, and logistics will also be affected, leading to a gradual decline in the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises to drop by 6 percentage points to 63.31% next week (1.10-1.16), which will be 8.67 percentage points lower than the same period in previous years.
