Metals used in automotive, aerospace and defense, and other industries are required to have certain physical and chemical properties based on their use. Metal heat treatment is a process that is used for changing the physical and chemical properties of metal to attain the desired engineered requirements. The process involves heating of metals in a furnace to change their metallurgical properties. Furnaces heat the metals up to 2,000-2,700°C following which the metals are subjected to different processes such as annealing, hardening, brazing, quenching, and carburizing. In the metal heat treatment process, the absence of air as well as other gases in the furnace averts heat transfer through convection, resulting in zero possibility of contamination.

库存升幅趋缓厂库下降，钢材现货价格拐点已至。本周 Mysteel 统计全国钢材社会库存升幅较上周放缓，同时螺纹、线材钢厂库存出现下降，虽然社会库存继续上升，但整体库存上升的幅度大幅放缓。钢厂出货积极，厂库下降之后钢厂挺价将会明显，现货一旦企稳，补库存将形成正反馈，目前局部区域出现封库情况，钢价拐点已至如期反弹。

在当前锌价高企的市场环境下，锌冶炼企业与锌矿企业之间的利润分享条款对实际加工费的影响巨大。以国内的条款来

说，国内现货锌价以15000 元每吨作为基准，现货锌价与15000元之间差价的20%会让渡给冶炼商。由于锌价大概率仍将维持高位，而上游矛盾逐步缓解，我们认为2018 年锌上游和中游利润将进一步改善，铅锌行业相关标的仍值得重点关注。