China aluminium scrap imports fell on both MoM and YoY basis in September

According to customs data, China imported 146,200 mt of aluminium scrap in September, down 9.72% YoY and 3.97% MoM, bringing total imports in the first nine months of 2023 up to 1.268 million mt, up 13.95% YoY. In September, Malaysia was still the largest aluminium scrap supplier of China, contributing 22,300 mt. The top five suppliers in September were Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the US, with total imports of 87,000 mt, accounting for 59.51% of the total aluminium imports of China.

The operating rate across aluminium plate/sheet, strip and foil producers stood at 72.05% in October, up 1.43 percentage points MoM, SMM survey showed. The operating rate stood at 77.71% across large-sized producers, 40.4% for mid-sized producers, and 40.1% among small producers. The operating rate was 70.75% for aluminium plate/sheet and strip producers and 76.85% for aluminium foil producers.