Speed Up Upstream-Downstream Industrial Chain Collaboration

In the first half of 2026, the linkage effect across China's domestic busbar trunking industrial chain remained prominent. Driven by technological iteration of upstream raw materials, upgraded manufacturing capacity in the midstream, and surging demand from new infrastructure downstream, the entire industry entered a phase of high-quality coordinated development. The full-year market size of the sector is set to achieve a larger year-on-year breakthrough, with the growth rate projected to stay within the 8%–10% range.

On the upstream raw material front, copper, aluminum conductors and flame-retardant insulating materials stand as the core determinants of industry costs and technical performance. Fueled by growth in the new energy sector, electrolytic copper prices edged up year-on-year in 2026, directly lifting production costs for copper-conductor busbar trunking. This forced midstream manufacturers to accelerate mass production and substitution of rare-earth high-conductivity aluminum conductors, pushing the market share of 6063-series high-conductivity aluminum alloy to 35.7%. Meanwhile, domestic insulation material enterprises achieved breakthroughs in high-end fire-resistant insulation technology. High-temperature resistant, flame-retardant composite materials tailored for high-current busbar trunking have realized domestic production, drastically reducing reliance on imported core components for premium busbar products and markedly strengthening the self-sufficiency and controllability of the supply chain. Manufacturers of supporting parts including profiles, plug-in connectors and intelligent temperature measuring modules expanded production in tandem, and established long-term strategic partnerships with enterprises clustered in busbar industrial bases such as Yangzhong to build a stable supply system.

Midstream busbar manufacturers adjusted their product portfolios in response, with compact busbar trunking and DC busbar trunking promoted as flagship products, while customized and intelligent production lines continued to be deployed. Leading manufacturers launched low-loss, lightweight busbar products leveraging new upstream materials, and ramped up R&D on non-standard fittings such as T-joints and starting flanges to cater to differentiated installation requirements of various projects. Service models including volume-based tiered discounts for bulk procurement and one-stop power distribution solutions gained widespread adoption, streamlining supply-demand coordination between upstream and downstream segments.

The downstream application market maintained robust growth momentum. Phase II of the East Data-West Computing project, energy storage power stations and AI intelligent computing centers emerged as core growth drivers, with the compound annual growth rate of the data center busbar trunking market reaching 6.9%. A wave of new projects for industrial and commercial energy storage as well as ultra-fast charging stations and high-end manufacturing plants broke ground, triggering a sharp surge in demand for high-current, high-ingress-protection busbar trunking. Renovation projects for existing power distribution systems in rail transit and commercial complexes also kept generating steady orders. General contractors and electromechanical installation firms downstream increasingly favor busbar suppliers with full industrial chain supporting capabilities, compelling midstream manufacturers to integrate end-to-end services covering raw material supply, production, construction and after-sales support.

Industry insiders analyze that deep collaboration between upstream and downstream players will remain a long-term industry trend. Cost reduction via new upstream materials, midstream process upgrades and downstream infrastructure expansion form a positive feedback loop. New product lines including DC busbar trunking and intelligently monitored busbar trunking will continuously unlock new market growth potential.