Non-ferrous Metal Industry In The First Quarter Smooth Operation

May 18, 2020

Non-ferrous metal enterprises have gradually resumed work and production. As of April 26, China nonferrous metal industry association has investigated 241 commonly used nonferrous metal smelting and copper and aluminum production enterprises, with the operating rate of 92.9%. During the epidemic period, common non-ferrous metal smelting enterprises basically maintained normal production, and the utilization rate of common non-ferrous metal smelting products was more than 85%. As of April 26, the utilization rate of daily non-ferrous metal smelting products was 86.6%. The utilization rate of copper and aluminum processing enterprises that resumed work and production gradually picked up. By April 26, the utilization rate of copper and aluminum processing enterprises that resumed work and production had reached 90.6%.

The added value of nonferrous metal industry declined by 4.1% year on year. In the first quarter of this year, the added value of non-ferrous metals industry on a regular basis decreased by 4.1% year on year, which was 5 percentage points lower than that in January and February, and 4.3 percentage points lower than that in the whole country. Among them, the industrial added value of non-ferrous metal mining industry decreased by 6.1% year on year, down by 7 percentage points compared with January and February. The added value of non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling industries declined by 3.8% year on year, down 4.7 percentage points from January to February.

The output of ten non-ferrous metals increased by 2.1% year on year, but the production of mines and processed products declined. In the first quarter, China's output of ten non-ferrous metals was 14.172 million tons, up 2.1% year on year. Among them, refined copper output was 2.288million tons, up 0.3% year on year. The output of primary aluminum was 8.843 million tons, up 2.7% year on year. The output of refined lead was 1.194 million tons, down 6.3% year on year. Zinc output was 1.495 million tons, up 11.0% year on year. The amount of six metal concentrates was 1.170 million tons, down 7.1% year on year, which was 2 percentage points smaller than that in January and February. Alumina production was 16.930 million tons, down 7.2% year on year, down 5.8 percentage points from January to February. Copper production was 3.668 million tons, down 5.9% year on year, down 2.4 percentage points from January to February. Aluminum production was 10.524 million tons, down 6.3 percent year on year, down 6.2 percent from January to February.

Investment in fixed assets declined. In the first quarter of this year, China's nonferrous metal industry (including independent gold enterprises) recorded a year-on-year decline of 11.4% in total fixed asset investment, down 7.8 percentage points from January to February. Among them, the fixed asset investment in mining was down by 10.8% year on year, which was 16.8 percentage points lower than that in January and February. Investment in fixed assets completed in smelting and rolling processes declined by 11.6% year on year, down 5.7 percentage points from January to February.

Imports of unwrought copper and copper materials increased, while exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium fell. In the first quarter, China imported 1.287 million tons of unwrought copper and copper materials, up 9.1% year on year, 1.9 percentage points higher than that in January and February. In the first quarter, China's exports of unwrought aluminum and aluminum products were 1.188,000 tons, down 17.5% year on year and down 7.8 percentage points compared with January and February. Rare earth exports in the first quarter were 11,000 tons, down 2.3% from a year earlier and down 15 percentage points from January to February.

The price of copper, aluminum, lead and zinc in domestic and foreign markets fell sharply in the first quarter. In the late march of this year, the average copper price dropped to 38,474 yuan/ton, the average aluminum price dropped to 11,398 yuan/ton, the average lead price dropped to 14,062 yuan/ton, and the average zinc price dropped to 16,053 yuan/ton in the domestic spot market. In the domestic spot market in mid-april, the average copper price was 42115 yuan/ton, up 9.5% from late march. The average price of aluminum was 12,039 yuan per ton, up 5.6% from late march. The average price of lead was 14,062 yuan/ton, up 2.1% from late march. The average price of zinc was 16,053 yuan per ton, up 7.2% from late march.

Non-ferrous enterprises were expected to make a profit of 15.3 billion yuan, down 31.4% year on year. In the first quarter of this year, the operating income of non-ferrous metal industrial enterprises above the designated level (including independent gold enterprises) reached 1.12527 trillion yuan, down 10.2% year on year, 4.9 percentage points lower than that of industrial enterprises above the designated level nationwide. The total profit reached 15.33 billion yuan, down 31.4% year on year, 5.3 percentage points lower than the national standard industrial enterprises. Among them, the profit of the independent non-ferrous metal mining enterprises was 5.0 billion yuan, down 33.9 percent. Non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling enterprises realized a profit of 10.33 billion yuan, down 30.2%.