Orders at aluminium extrusion plants to remain poor in Apr

SHANGHAI, Apr 10 (SMM) – China's aluminium extrusion producers in the north reported sharp declines in orders in March, as the two political sessions and the slowdown in real estate depressed downstream purchases, an SMM survey found on Wednesday April 10. 

SMM expects orders in April to remain weaker than in April 2018, even if they pick up from March. 

Output controls during China’s annual political sessions in Beijing, which started on March 5 this year, affected local manufacturers and suspended construction. This significantly lowered orders across aluminium extrusion plants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and nearby areas, such as Shandong and Shanxi provinces. 

The floor space of completed buildings stood at some 125 million m² in the first two months of 2019, down 11.88% from the same period in 2018, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). 

A higher base in March 2018 also accounted for lower orders last month. 

With much environmental pressure in 2017, a release of pent-up demand after restrictions eased in the first quarter of 2018 grew downstream orders across aluminium extrusion plants. Production curbs in the fourth quarter of 2018 were less stringent from 2017, and this released demand steadily at the beginning of this year.