Weekly Operation Briefing on Recycled PC Equipment: Focused Maintenance Implementation, High-End Material Supply Tightens

This week, the comprehensive operating load of domestic recycled PC enterprises is 44.5%, a decrease of 2.0 percentage points compared to the previous period. The production thresholds for optical-grade and high-transparency recycled PC are relatively high, coupled with equipment maintenance during the summer, leading to a tightening of overall industry supply. Key planned maintenance in the domestic market includes: the high-transparency recycled PC unit in Kunshan, Jiangsu, with an annual capacity of 10.5 million tons, was shut down for 16 days starting July 5 for maintenance, including upgrades to polishing and purification equipment, resulting in a weekly loss of 1,860 tons in high-end recycled PC capacity; the modified substrate recycled PC unit in Wuhan, Hubei, with an annual capacity of 6.3 million tons, is undergoing line-by-line maintenance, causing the overall plant load to drop to 51%.

Sudden Operational Conditions and Production Increase: On July 6, a water circulation system leak caused a 2-day shutdown for repairs at the 51,000 tons/year explosion-proof grade recycled PC facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, which resumed production on July 8, leading to a temporary shortage of electronic grade recycled PC in South China. Limited production increases: The 72,000 tons/year industrial grade recycled PC facility in Chengdu, Sichuan, completed maintenance and restarted on July 4, ramping up to 88% load, primarily supplying the Southwest's new energy component enterprises. Currently, there are no large-scale new recycled PC production capacities under construction in the country, and the commissioning period for high-end purification projects has been extended, making it difficult to release additional capacity in the short term.

Overseas plant operations: Major recycled PC plants in Incheon, South Korea, and Taoyuan, Taiwan, underwent routine maintenance, leading to an 18.7% month-on-month decrease in imports of transparent PC pellets into China. Recycled PC factories in Southeast Asia faced scarce supplies of waste optical discs as feedstock and continued to operate at a low-to-medium load of 50%–58% over the long term. This week, recycled PC capacity under inspection/maintenance stood at 428,000 tonnes, with a weekly net capacity loss of 12,100 tonnes. Rigid demand from downstream new energy and precision electronics sectors remained stable. Spot supply of high-end recycled PC remained tight, while supply and demand for general industrial-grade material were loose.