Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant content provided. Core Viewpoints - In 2026, there is an expectation of tight supply at the mine end. Overseas mine supply growth is slowing, and domestic mines are affected by depletion. The Huoshaoyun Mine may not contribute significantly to the market due to poor market utilization. TC is unlikely to rise, and the Benchmark may remain below $100/ton, failing to stimulate overseas smelting growth. In China, smelters are also facing comprehensive cost losses. Therefore, with the expected tight supply at the mine end in 2026, the pressure on smelting supply is expected to weaken significantly. - At the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan and during the overseas interest rate cut cycle, there are positive expectations for the consumer end. Even if the production of the Huoshaoyun Mine is realized smoothly, the supply and demand will remain balanced in 2026, but there is still a possibility of the invisibility of visible inventory, resulting in a downward trend in social inventory. If the Huoshaoyun Mine fails to be put into production as expected, the supply and demand will be tight. - The report is not pessimistic about the zinc price in 2026 [5]. Summary by Directory I. Zinc Ore - 1.1 Overseas mines are growing as expected, but the supply pressure will significantly decline in 2026 - In Q3 2025, overseas mine production was 1.3 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 126,000 tons; the cumulative production of the sample from January to September was 3.755 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 326,000 tons. The increase mainly comes from new and复产 projects as expected. Kipushi has复产 as scheduled, with improved grade and recovery rate, and its production is expected to increase further. Its production is expected to increase by 60,000 tons year-on-year in 2026. Antamina is one of the main mines contributing to the increase overseas this year, with a year-on-year increase of 172,000 tons in zinc concentrate production from January to September. However, it will shift to copper production from 2026 - 2028, and its production is expected to be lower than in 2025, with a year-on-year decline of 150,000 tons in 2026. The复产 of the Tera Mine is slower than expected, with a production of 60,000 tons in the first three quarters. It is expected to contribute an incremental output of 10,000 - 20,000 tons in 2026. Gamsberg's production has increased significantly due to improved capacity utilization and a higher proportion of high-grade ore, and it is expected to contribute an incremental output of 50,000 tons in the second half of 2026. Grupo Mexico's production has increased due to improved mine grade, but its incremental output in 2026 is expected to be less than 10,000 tons. The OZ Mine is expected to contribute an incremental output of 100,000 tons in 2026. The Red Dog Mine's production has declined due to grade decline, and it is expected to continue to decline by 80,000 - 100,000 tons year-on-year in 2026 [11][12][13]. - It is estimated that the overseas zinc concentrate production will be 8.29 million tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 420,000 tons, and is expected to contribute an incremental output of 90,000 tons in 2026 [6]. - For domestic mines, from January to October, the domestic zinc ore production was 3.058 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 56,000 tons. Due to factors such as depletion of existing domestic mines, the production of old mines in the sample is showing a downward trend. The Huoshaoyun Mine has great uncertainties, and its impact on the market needs to be further observed. In 2025, without considering the Huoshaoyun Mine, the new and复产 capacities will contribute 50,000 tons, but considering the decline in the production of sample mines, the domestic ore supply will increase slightly by 30,000 tons year-on-year. In 2026, the new and复产 projects are expected to contribute an output of about 60,000 tons, and with the use of a small amount of ore sold by the Huoshaoyun Mine for blending, the domestic ore supply is expected to increase by 100,000 tons (excluding the contribution of the Huoshaoyun Mine's self - smelting into zinc ingots). At the same time, attention should be paid to the production decline of old sample mines due to depletion problems [14][15][16]. - From January to October, the import of zinc ore was 4.349 million tons, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 36.6%. Since June, zinc ore imports have been facing continuous losses, and the year-on-year growth rate of monthly zinc ore imports has dropped rapidly [16]. II. Refined Zinc - 2.1 High profit pressure at home and abroad, and the supply pressure will be alleviated quarter-on-quarter - In China, the supply pressure began to appear in the second half of the year. From June, the daily average output increased significantly month-on-month, and from July, the year-on-year growth rate of monthly output exceeded 20%. The social inventory of zinc ingots began to accumulate rapidly from July, and the domestic spot market quickly changed from a premium structure to a discount structure under high supply pressure. In terms of absolute price, after the price dropped rapidly from a high of over 25,000 yuan/ton to 22,000 yuan/ton in the first half of the year due to supply pressure, in the second half of the year, after the supply pressure was realized, the absolute price fluctuated in the range of 21,500 - 23,000 yuan/ton, mainly supported by the macro - environment. Compared with copper and aluminum prices, the relative price of zinc is still declining [29]. - From January to October, the cumulative output of zinc ingots was 5.686 million tons, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 10.1%. It is estimated that the annual output will be 5.9 million tons, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 11.5%. From January to October, China's cumulative import of refined zinc was 277,000 tons, a cumulative year-on-year decrease of 26.6%. In 2025, China's long - term import order of zinc ingots was about 15,000 - 20,000 tons per month. The import window closed in May, and the pattern of strong overseas and weak domestic markets continued, with the import loss expanding. The export window opened in October. It is expected that China's long - term import order of zinc ingots will significantly decrease in 2026 and may even approach zero, and the export window may open periodically, and China will become a net exporter of zinc ingots, which will effectively relieve the domestic supply pressure [29][30][31]. - Since September, the domestic mine TC has started to decline, and since October, the imported mine TC has also declined synchronously. The smelting losses of domestic smelters have expanded, from a minimum loss of 100 yuan/ton to a loss of 1,300 yuan/ton. Even with the continuous increase in the sulfuric acid price, the industry is currently at the break - even point, and high - cost areas are facing comprehensive cost losses. The daily average output of the supply side has dropped from a high of 20,200 tons to 19,900 tons. Although the overseas mine production is increasing as expected, the TC is showing a downward trend. From the perspective of mine supply, although the supply will still grow in 2026, the worst - expected period has ended. Therefore, considering the smelting profit, the current supply pressure still exists, but it is expected to be alleviated quarter - on - quarter [30][31]. - Overseas supply problems may still not be resolved. It is predicted that the overseas zinc ingot output will be 6.836 million tons in 2025, a quarter - on - quarter decrease of 1.4%. The European region has contributed to the continuous decline, which is inevitably related to the power cost problem. Since the European energy crisis, the power cost has not returned to the pre - crisis level and is even higher than the domestic electricity price. In addition, regions such as Australia and the United States are also facing power cost problems. If the 2026 zinc ore Benchmark pricing does not improve significantly compared to this year, in the long run, the overseas supply side will not put pressure on the zinc price, and more attention should be paid to the sustainability of consumption [32]. - 2.2 The social inventory accumulation is lower than expected - In the first half of the year, strong domestic demand and export - driven consumption, combined with the fact that the supply side had not yet released pressure, led to lower - than - expected inventory accumulation during the Spring Festival and inventory depletion to a historical low during the peak season. In the second half of the year, after the supply expectations were realized, the social inventory was originally expected to accumulate to 200,000 tons, but in fact, due to the unexpected growth of domestic demand and the overseas warehouse receipt risk, the export window opened. Since October, although the social inventory is at a historical high for the same period, it has shown a seasonal downward trend. The highest point of the social inventory this year was only 160,000 tons. The reasons for the lower - than - expected inventory accumulation include: consumption structural reform, which made us underestimate the actual consumption as the decline of traditional real estate and infrastructure offset by new consumption; the expansion of the alloying scale of intermediate processed products, resulting in the invisibility of visible inventory; the opening of the export window, which enabled traders and smelters to open up overseas sales channels. If the domestic supply side is compressed due to cost problems in the future, the inventory depletion rhythm is expected to accelerate, which will be a positive factor for the zinc price [53][54][56]. - The LME inventory has dropped from 230,000 tons at the beginning of the year to a minimum of 35,000 tons, and there has been a warehouse receipt risk with a rapid increase in the spot premium. Although there has been a slight increase subsequently, the absolute inventory level is still low, and the warehouse receipt risk has not been resolved. On the one hand, there has been an unexpected production cut on the overseas supply side, and on the other hand, consumption has been strong, and overseas tariff trade wars have not affected the actual consumption [56]. III. Downstream Consumption - 3.1 Export drives galvanized consumption - From January to October, China's cumulative net export of galvanized strips was 11.101 million tons, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 12.4%. The cumulative growth rate of excavator sales reached 17%, which is not in line with the growth rate of China's real estate and infrastructure, and is more due to the infrastructure demand in third - world countries driven by China's development. Therefore, in 2026, exports are expected to maintain a high - growth contribution to commodity consumption and may continue for many years. Considering the export of galvanized strips, angle steels, and automobile tires, it is estimated that exports will drive zinc consumption to increase by 120,000 tons in 2026 [64]. - 3.3 New energy power drives consumption growth - From January to September, China's photovoltaic installed capacity was 240.4GW, a year-on-year increase of 49.4%. Affected by the policy, the installed capacity was pre - consumed, and the annual installed capacity is expected to be 280 - 290GW, with the year-on-year growth rate dropping to 3 - 5%. In 2026, the preliminary expected installed capacity is about 250GW, a year-on-year decrease of about 10%. Considering the increase in the proportion of centralized photovoltaics driving the demand for galvanizing, it is estimated that the zinc consumption in the photovoltaic sector will be 380,000 tons in 2026, a year-on-year decrease of 40,000 tons. - At the beginning of the 14th Five - Year Plan, there are clear goals for the power grid and new energy power. It is estimated that the cumulative incremental installed capacity in five years can reach 600GW, with an average annual incremental installed capacity of 120GW, and there is a possibility of accelerating the completion at the beginning. From January to October, China's wind power installed capacity was 70GW, and the annual installed capacity is expected to be 104GW, corresponding to a zinc consumption of 310,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 70,000 tons. In 2026, the expected installed capacity is 120GW, corresponding to a zinc consumption of 360,000 tons, contributing an incremental output of 50,000 tons. - From January to October, China's cumulative investment in power grid construction was 437.8 billion yuan, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 9.9%. In 2026, as the starting year of the 14th Five - Year Plan, UHV projects such as "Xinjiang Power to Sichuan" and "Gansu Power to Zhejiang" will be promoted, and rural power grid upgrading and transformation will be carried out. It is estimated that the average annual compound growth rate of the 14th Five - Year Plan power grid can reach 8%, and there is a possibility of accelerating in the first two years. It is estimated that the power grid towers, transformers, etc. will drive zinc consumption by 50,000 tons [67][68]. - 3.4 Halving of domestic purchase tax, and the growth of automobile output depends on exports - From January to October, China's cumulative automobile production was 27.692 million vehicles, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 13.2%, among which the cumulative year-on-year increase in new energy vehicle production was 33.1%, and the cumulative year-on-year decrease in traditional vehicle production was 0.1%. The comprehensive data is much better than the initial expectations. It is estimated that the annual cumulative automobile production will be 33.5 million vehicles, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 10.3% (3.22 million vehicles). - In terms of exports, from January to October, China's cumulative automobile export volume was 5.615 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%. According to this data, the annual export is estimated to contribute an incremental output of 1.1 million vehicles. According to customs data, China's cumulative automobile exports (including chassis) were 6.51 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 23.3%. According to this data, the annual export is estimated to contribute an incremental output of 1.8 million vehicles. Although this includes second - hand car exports, it can also be seen that automobile exports have made a significant contribution to China's automobile production. In 2026, although the halving of the domestic automobile purchase tax may put pressure on automobile production, under the optimistic export expectations, it is estimated that the automobile production in 2026 can reach 37.2 million vehicles, with a cumulative year-on-year growth rate of 7.8%, corresponding to an increase in zinc consumption of 60,000 - 70,000 tons [73]. - 3.5 Domestic consumption structural reform - From January to October, China's cumulative infrastructure investment increased by only 1.5% year-on-year, the cumulative year-on-year decline in new real estate construction was 19.8%, the cumulative year-on-year decline in real estate construction was 9.4%, and the cumulative year-on-year decline in real estate completion was 16.9%. The traditional consumption sector has dragged down consumption. However, structural reform brings new hope. In addition to the automobile and power investment sectors mentioned above, attention should also be paid to the investment growth rate of water transportation, which was 9.4% from January to October. - From January to October, China's cumulative air - conditioner production increased by 3% year-on-year, the cumulative year-on-year decline in color TV production was 2.3%, the cumulative year-on-year increase in household refrigerator production was 0.9%, and the cumulative year-on-year increase in household washing machine production was 6.4%. The performance of the home appliance sector was mediocre [81]. Supply - Demand Balance - In 2025, the actual apparent consumption growth rate is estimated to reach 7.1%, and there is a phenomenon of the invisibility of visible inventory into finished product inventories such as zinc alloys, which also indicates that zinc alloy enterprises are expanding production due to consumption growth. After the decline in the absolute price, it is estimated that downstream enterprises will shift from active inventory depletion to active inventory replenishment, and the actual consumption growth rate can reach 4.3%. - For 2026, the actual consumption growth rate is estimated to reach 2.8%, and there is a possibility that the apparent consumption growth rate will be greater than the actual due to continuous inventory replenishment by downstream enterprises. Regarding the supply side's attitude towards the Huoshaoyun Mine, without considering its production contribution, the smelting supply growth rate is expected to be 1.7%, and there will be a domestic supply shortage of 150,000 tons. Even if an optimistic expectation is given to the Huoshaoyun Mine, contributing an incremental output of
消费强势背景下供给压力难显现
Hua Tai Qi Huo·2025-11-30 07:53