In March, domestic copper pipe production increased by 65.65% month-on-month.

According to Mysteel’s survey of 43 domestic copper tube sample companies, with a total involved capacity of 2.78M tons, the domestic copper tube production in March 2026 was 196.3k tons, an increase of 77.8k tons from February, a growth of 65.65%; year-on-year, it increased by 2.8k tons, a rise of 1.42%. The comprehensive capacity utilization rate in March was 84.72%, up 33.58% month-on-month; among them, nine companies with an annual capacity of over 100k tons had a utilization rate of 94.94%, up 41.35% month-on-month; fifteen companies with an annual capacity between 50k and 100k tons had a utilization rate of 84.6%, up 30.93% month-on-month; nineteen companies with an annual capacity below 50k tons and over 10k tons had a utilization rate of 56.33%, up 17.57% month-on-month. In March, during the traditional peak season for copper tube demand, manufacturers were highly motivated to produce, but due to market expectations of higher output and orders, actual shipment pace could not match production progress, leading to an accumulation of finished copper tube inventory. Therefore, despite April still being peak season, inventory pressure and the shortened demand peak season are expected to cause a decline in the operating rate of copper tube companies. It is forecasted that in April 2026, the operating rate will decline both sequentially and year-on-year, with an output of approximately 186.1k tons and a capacity utilization rate of 80.32%. (My Steel Network)