Export volume of aluminum wheels in 2023 was mediocre [SMM Analysis]

Customs data showed that China exported a total of 72,600 mt of aluminum wheels in December 2023, down by 6 percentage points MoM but up by 9 percentage points YoY. The export volume in 2023 was approximately 934,000 mt, up by 58,500 mt YoY.

The top five export destinations for aluminum wheels in December were the United States (28% of all), Japan (23% of all), Mexico (11% of all), South Korea (9% of all), and Thailand (4% of all). The gap in wheel export volume between the United States and Japan continued to be less than 5,000 mt, and the structure of aluminum wheel export destinations has gradually stabilized.

SMM believes that although the export volume of aluminum wheels in 2023 achieved positive growth YoY, it may be more due to the epidemic in 2022 that disrupted the production and transportation of enterprises. The export volume of 934,000 mt was not outstanding compared with the previous five years. The current international situation is still highly uncertain, and the uncertainty in several major aluminum wheel export markets such as the United States, Japan, and Mexico remained high. In the short term, aluminum wheel exports may continue to be curbed by bearish factors such as anti-dumping policies and sluggish global automobile consumption, and are expected to continue to stay at a low level.