The operating rate of secondary aluminum alloy seasonally rebounded in March [SMM Analysis]

Survey Data on Regional Operating Rates of Secondary Aluminum Alloy Enterprises in March 2025:

Survey Data on Operating Rates of Secondary Aluminum Alloy Enterprises by Enterprise Scale in March 2025:

According to the SMM survey, the operating rate of the secondary aluminum industry in March 2025 rebounded significantly by 10.5 percentage points MoM to 43.9%, but declined by 4.4% YoY.

With the fading of holiday factors, increased working days, and seasonal recovery in demand, orders for secondary aluminum plants generally rebounded in March, driving the operating rate to rise steadily. However, due to factors such as the front-loading of previous orders and end-use markets being busy digesting inventories, downstream orders declined significantly YoY, leading to a YoY decline in the operating level.

Entering April, facing factors such as order shrinkage, losses on production, financial pressure, and sharp fluctuations in aluminum prices, some secondary aluminum plants have lowered their operating levels, and the operating rate in April is expected to decline slightly.