Consumption trends

摘要

The consumption of copper tube declined in 2012 as short-term economic conditions and longer-term substitution trends dented demand. In 2012, CRU estimates that global consumption of copper tube, which includes both commercial and plumbing tube, fell by 1.2% y-o-y, to around 2.45Mt. Nevertheless, the fourth quarter saw the most positive growth of the year, with the consumption of copper tube expanding 1.6% y-o-y, driven by a pickup in Chinese consumption of copper tube in the air conditioner segment.