In March, China’s composite PMI for aluminum processing registered 65.6%, rebounding strongly above the 50 mark.

This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China rebounded 1.1 percentage points MoM to 64%.

[Weekly Operating Rates in the Aluminum Processing Industry: China's Aluminum Processing Sector Sees Modest Growth Amid Peak Season Demand] This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China edged up 1 percentage point WoW to 62.9%.

[SMM Weekly Survey of the Aluminum Downstream Sector: Downstream Aluminum Operating Rate Continued to Rebound to 61.9%, with High Prices Suppressing the Peak "Golden March" Season] This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China rose 2.4 percentage points MoM to 61.9%, overall extending the post-holiday recovery trend, with all segments rebounding MoM, and the industry as a whole entering a normal production pace.

According to SMM, as of February 27, 2026, the days of inventories for domestic aluminum rod plants were recorded at 12.7 days, an increase of 8.6 days from before the holiday.In the first week after the holiday, the weekly operating rate of the domestic aluminum wire and cable industry rebounded to 57%, up 4 percentage points MoM, significantly higher than the pre-holiday low of 53%.

According to SMM, as of February 27, 2026, the days of inventories for domestic aluminum rod plants were recorded at 12.7 days, an increase of 8.6 days from before the holiday.In the first week after the holiday, the weekly operating rate of the domestic aluminum wire and cable industry rebounded to 57%, up 4 percentage points MoM, significantly higher than the pre-holiday low of 53%.

Following the Chinese New Year holiday, the domestic wire and cable industry has gradually resumed production in an orderly manner, with the overall pace of work resumption largely aligning with expectations. The specific details are as follows......

【SMM Analysis: Chinese New Year Holiday Production Resumption at Copper Cathode Rod Enterprises in 2026】Following the Chinese New Year holiday, the resumption of production at domestic copper cathode rod enterprises proceeded in an orderly manner, with the overall pace largely consistent with pre-holiday arrangements, with only a few individual enterprises showing deviations.......

[SMM Copper Express] After the Chinese New Year holiday, the pace of production resumptions in the domestic wire and cable industry aligned with expectations. The industry concentrated its production restarts on the eighth and ninth days of the first lunar month. However, due to delayed resumptions at the terminal end and workers not yet returning to their posts, the production pace has not fully returned to normal. Enterprises generally expect that after the Lantern Festival, as downstream end-users fully resume operations, orders will gradually increase, and the operating rate is expected to return to normal levels.

【SMM Copper Cathode Rod Express】According to SMM survey, the domestic copper cathode rod industry has not fully resumed work, with some enterprises still on holiday. It is expected that the industry will fully return to regular production after the Lantern Festival. Downstream demand shows divergence: orders in the wire and cable industry after the holiday are relatively low, while enamelled wire orders perform relatively well. SMM expects that the operating rate in the copper cathode rod industry will rebound to nearly 60% next week.