A business owner in Jinan, Ms. Li, who specializes in water pump and motor sales, has felt the impact of rising copper prices acutely. Since the start of this year, manufacturers have completed three rounds of price adjustments, driving up terminal water pump prices by a cumulative 6% to 10%.

To ease cost pressures, the market has seen a surge in copper-aluminum composite and all-aluminum motor products. Merchants are hesitant to stockpile large quantities and are only keeping a small inventory of hot-selling models.

Meanwhile, they are closely tracking raw material market trends and making small-scale purchases during manufacturers' price adjustment windows to minimize cost losses and protect their basic profit margins.