In January and February 2014, China's non-ferrous metal industry maintained a steady growth in output. The total production of ten key non-ferrous metals reached 6.56 million tons, marking a 6.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Among these, refined copper output was 1.58 million tons, primary aluminum stood at 3.77 million tons, while lead and zinc reached 677,000 tons and 802,000 tons respectively. These figures showed growth rates of 6.7%, 7.2%, 6.6%, and 1.1% respectively. In terms of processed materials, copper and aluminum outputs were 2.138 million tons and 5.17 million tons, rising by 5.8% and 17.7% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the content of six types of concentrate metals—copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, tin, and antimony—was 1.159 million tons, down 2.2% from the previous year. Alumina output, however, increased by 8.1% to 7.36 million tons.
Despite the positive output growth, the prices of non-ferrous metals continued to decline throughout the period. This was largely due to weak demand both domestically and internationally, as well as oversupply in the market. The average spot prices for copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc in January–February were 51,109 yuan/ton, 13,504 yuan/ton, 14,012 yuan/ton, and 15,336 yuan/ton respectively, showing declines of 11.9%, 9.4%, 6.0%, and 1.2%. With new aluminum electrolysis capacity coming online, aluminum prices were expected to remain low. However, due to limited new entrants into the market, prices were unlikely to fall below March levels.
Trade in non-ferrous metals also saw growth during this period. Total import and export value reached $15.42 billion, up 10.86% year-on-year. Imports rose significantly by 17.35% to $10.494 billion, while exports declined slightly by 0.83% to $4.927 billion. Notably, imports of unwrought copper and copper products increased by 41.2% to 220,000 tons, with a value of $6.96 billion, up 29.7%. Copper concentrate imports also rose by 25.3% to 1.8 million tons, with a value of $3.44 billion, up 14.4%.
Profitability for non-ferrous metal companies faced downward pressure. Revenue for 9,325 large-scale enterprises reached 736.3 billion yuan, an increase of 6.9% year-on-year, but profits fell by 11.6% to 20.3 billion yuan. The mining, smelting, and rolling sectors saw profit declines of 13.2% and 10.5% respectively. Aluminum smelting suffered losses of 2.93 billion yuan, up from the previous year’s 2 billion yuan. The company China and Holding reported losses of 2.43 billion yuan, and with further price drops in March, losses were expected to rise.
Industry structure adjustments continued, with fixed asset investments in the non-ferrous metal sector reaching 33.96 billion yuan, up 6% year-on-year. Mining, smelting, and processing investments were 5.12 billion, 9.5 billion, and 19.34 billion yuan respectively, with smelting and mining showing slight declines. However, investment in high-value-added rolling projects increased, reflecting a shift toward more advanced industrial development.
Overall, the Chinese non-ferrous metal industry maintained steady growth in 2014, with an expected output increase of about 8%. As domestic policies supported stable growth, market fundamentals were expected to improve. While the U.S. economy and EU markets showed signs of recovery, major non-ferrous metal prices remained low, though price trends may vary across different metals. Companies still faced significant challenges in achieving profit recovery.
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