Primary aluminium inventories dropped 114,000 mt on week

In February 2026, sales based on traffic compulsory insurance of new vehicles in China’s passenger vehicle market totaled 1.145 million units, down 13.2% YoY. Notably, this marked the fourth consecutive month since last November that the market posted a decline of more than 10%. Combined sales for January and February reached 2.704 million units, down 14.3% YoY.

Recently, Chongqing Shunbo Aluminum Alloy Co., Ltd. officially released its prospectus for a private share issuance to specific investors.The aluminum plate/sheet and strip products to be produced by this project have a wide range of application fields, mainly including battery foil stock, battery casings, can stock, aluminum semis for 3C products, and aluminum semis for tank trucks, among others, and are highly aligned with industries such as green packaging, NEVs, and ESS batteries. Through the implementation of this project, the company is expected to dedicate 40 of its aluminum plate/sheet and strip capacity specifically to the production of battery casing material and battery foil stock, in order to directly meet the urgent demand in the power battery and ESS battery markets.

According to data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Japan’s import value rose 10.2% YoY in February this year, while total export value increased 4.2%. By country, Japan’s exports to the US fell 8% YoY, marking the third consecutive month of decline, with auto exports in particular down 14.8%. Meanwhile, Japan’s export value to China decreased 10.9%, while its import value surged 35.4%.