The output of China's copper pipe industry is 2.05 million tons in 2020
1. Development background
Copper pipes are hollow copper processed products with uniform cross-section and wall thickness along the entire length, and only one closed through hole. They are supplied in straight or rolled shapes.
The copper processing industry is an important part of the national economy. There are about 250 alloys of copper processing materials and nearly a thousand product varieties. Its products are widely used in household appliances, electricity, automobiles, construction, electronic instrumentation, national defense, transportation, Ocean engineering and many other industries. In recent years, the output of copper processing materials in China has shown a slow growth trend. In 2020, the output of copper processing materials in China will be 18.97 million tons, an increase of 810,000 tons from 2019.
| Year | Copper Products Output |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1722.5 |
| 2018 | 1781 |
| 2019 | 1816 |
| 2020 | 1897 |
2. Status of supply and demand
The rapid economic development and the rapid expansion of the market have promoted and supported China to become the world's largest producer and consumer of copper processing materials. In 2019, affected by weak market demand and the elimination of some backward production capacity, China's copper pipe production has declined, and the downward trend will continue in 2020. In 2020, China's copper pipe production will be 2.05 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 4.21% from the 2.14 million tons in 2019 .
| Year | Copper Pipe Output (10 thousand tons) | Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 280 | - |
| 2017 | 260 | -7.14 |
| 2018 | 278 | 6.92 |
| 2019 | 214 | -23.02 |
| 2020 | 205 | -4.21 |
In 2020, China's copper pipe output was 1.92 million tons, accounting for 93.7% of total copper pipe output, an increase of 0.2% from 2019; alloy pipe output was 130,000 tons, accounting for 6.3% of total copper pipe output, a decrease from 2019 By 0.2%.
China's copper pipes are mainly used in the refrigeration industry. About 75% of the copper pipe products are used in air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers and other equipment.
In 2019, China's air-conditioning market is facing an oversupply situation, which has led to a decline in China's copper pipe consumption. The apparent consumption of copper pipes in China in 2019 was 1.976 million tons, and the apparent consumption of copper pipes in China in 2020 was 1.896 million tons.
3. Import and export trade
Due to production costs and other reasons, the production of copper pipes in traditional developed countries has been greatly reduced. Countries such as China have seized the opportunity, copper product manufacturing enterprises have achieved rapid development, international competitiveness has increased rapidly, and product exports have continued to expand. In 2020, China's copper pipe export volume was 179,800 tons, a decrease of 10,800 tons compared with 2019; the import volume was 26,000 tons, which was a decrease of 0.02 million tons compared with 2019.
| Year | Export | Import |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 18.01 | 1.36 |
| 2015 | 16.46 | 1.34 |
| 2016 | 15.49 | 1.69 |
| 2017 | 16.70 | 2.08 |
| 2018 | 17.72 | 2.36 |
| 2019 | 19.06 | 2.62 |
| 2020 | 17.98 | 2.60 |
In terms of the distribution of imports, China mainly imports copper pipes from Vietnam, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. In 2020, China will import copper pipes from Vietnam to US$90.256 million, from the United States to US$43.77 million; from Japan to US$24.57 million. ; Imported copper pipes from South Korea to 18.475 million US dollars.
From the perspective of export value distribution, Thailand is the largest exporter of Chinese copper pipes. In 2020, China's copper pipe exports to Thailand were US$241 million, accounting for 18.7% of the total export value of the country; exports to Taiwan, China were US$150 million, accounting for 11.7% of the total export value of the country.
