【 Building materials network 】In February 2013, Shanghai Refrigeration air conditioner Industry Association, Shanghai Aluminum Industry Association and Shanghai University of Technology jointly launched the cooperation project of "replacing copper with aluminum" for 100000 fan coil units, aiming to accelerate the implementation of "replacing copper with aluminum" in the air conditioning field.

The copper price is expected to gradually stabilize in the range of 55000~56000 yuan/ton in the middle and late March, and with the increase of demand for replenishment in the later period, it is expected to re stand at the integer level of 60000 yuan/ton from April to May.

On March 15, China's copper price fluctuated in a narrow range, reaching 56800 yuan/ton, up 215 yuan/ton from March 14. In the international market, it is estimated that the copper price in London will rise by 15% to US $9000 per ton in the next six months, more than twice the increase in 2012.

Compared with the increasing depletion of domestic copper resources and the rise in copper prices caused by foreign imports, many Wire and cable Enterprises turn their attention to aluminum. Industry insiders pointed out that "replacing copper with aluminum" has become Cable The inevitable trend of industry transformation and development.

The cable industry is facing difficulties due to the increasing shortage of copper resources

Copper has good conductivity and thermal conductivity, which can reduce the loss of electric energy when delivering current. It has been hard for wire and cable manufacturers to leave. At present, more than 60% of China's wire and cable industry uses copper to make cables, and every year production line The copper consumption of cables accounts for more than 60% of the total domestic copper consumption.

China is a country with a large population in the world, and copper consumption accounts for about 40% of the world. In order to meet the power grid, housing, cars and exports, in December 2012, China's copper wire demand reached 4.2 million kilometers, a nine month high. Moreover, in the context of increasing spending to stimulate the economy, China needs enough copper per month to circle the earth more than 100 times. According to the 2012 China Wire and Cable Industry Analysis Report, in the next five years power cable Its market capacity will continue to grow at an annual rate of 8%~9%.

As we all know, the cable plays a vital role as a "medium" in the whole process of power transmission. With the implementation of projects such as the West East Power Transmission Project, power grid transformation, and the gradual progress of urbanization, the demand for cables is also rising.

At present, the output value of China's wire and cable industry has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 25% of the global wire and cable market share, and China has become the world's largest producer, surpassing the United States.

However, the world's top ten mining giants control nearly 75% of the world's mine output, while China's copper resource reserves are about 26 million tons, and the actual annual copper consumption is nearly 5 million tons. Goldman Sachs expects that China's copper demand will jump 8% to an unprecedented 8.833 million tons in 2013, which will increase the total global demand and cause a supply and demand gap of 6000 tons. In 2012, the supply exceeded demand by 216000 tons.

It is estimated that China's copper resources will support more than 5 years. Due to the scarcity of copper resources, 70% of China's copper concentrates rely on imports, which brings great pressure to smelting enterprises and causes a sharp rise in costs. According to relevant enterprises, for every ton of copper imported from abroad, the enterprise will lose 1000~2000 yuan. At the same time, as more and more enterprises pour into the cable production field, the cable industry's dependence on copper imports is also growing, and the manufacturing and construction costs are increasing.

In the next few years, China will build smart grids, nuclear power, railways, buildings, etc. on a large scale, and the demand for wire and cable products will increase. How to save costs and increase benefits has become the number one problem for wire and cable manufacturers.