Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: China's aluminum industry maintained stable operation in the first half of 2020, and the price of smelting products stabilized and rebounded.

SMM News: in the first half of 2020, China's aluminum industry maintained a stable operation, smelting product prices stabilized and rebounded, aluminum ingot inventory continued to decline, the decline in industry efficiency significantly narrowed.

First, the steady growth of production, aluminum ingot inventory continues to decline. From January to June, the output of electrolytic aluminum and aluminum materials was 17.89 million tons and 26.46 million tons respectively, up 1.7 percent and 7.8 percent respectively over the same period last year. Alumina production was 35.2 million tons, down 5.1 percent from the same period last year, or 2.1 percentage points lower than in the first quarter. According to industry analysts, the social inventory of aluminum ingots in late July was 688000 tons, close to the pre-Spring Festival level and down 60 per cent from the year's high.

Second, prices have hit bottom and rebounded, and the decline in efficiency has narrowed. Since April, the price of aluminium smelting products has rebounded from the previous month, with the spot price of aluminum averaging 13823 yuan per ton in June, up 12.1 per cent from the March average. From January to June, the profit of the aluminum industry was 12.86 billion yuan, down 32.7 percent from the same period last year. In particular, the profit realized in June was 5.98 billion yuan, an increase of 29.7 percent over the same period last year. The benefit decline in the first half of the year was 19.8 percentage points lower than that in January-May. Among them, the profits of bauxite mining, aluminum smelting and aluminum Calendering reached 20 million yuan, 4.48 billion yuan and 8.36 billion yuan from January to June, respectively. The year-on-year decline was 90.9%, 54.7% and 7.2% respectively, and the profit decline in smelting and aluminum calender processing was 25.3% and 18.2% lower than that in January-May, respectively.

Third, the import of bauxite and smelting products increased compared with the same period last year, and the export of aluminum expanded. From January to June, imported bauxite (physical volume) was 58.31 million tons, an increase of 8.6 percent over the same period last year; affected by the flexible production of domestic alumina enterprises and the weakness of aluminum prices inside and outside, alumina and unwrought aluminum imported 1.939 million tons, 629000 tons, up 501.3% and 591.1% over the same period last year; imported aluminum scrap was 389000 tons, down 53.9% from the same period last year. From January to June, aluminum exports were 2.244 million tons, down 15.1 percent from the same period last year, or 2.9 percent more than in the first quarter.

"SMM online Q & A" has come to the market, price, information if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Scan the QR code and join the SMM metal communication group.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
China's Passenger Vehicle Sales Decline for 4th Month, Down 13.2% YoY in Feb 2026
1 hour ago
China's Passenger Vehicle Sales Decline for 4th Month, Down 13.2% YoY in Feb 2026
Read More
China's Passenger Vehicle Sales Decline for 4th Month, Down 13.2% YoY in Feb 2026
China's Passenger Vehicle Sales Decline for 4th Month, Down 13.2% YoY in Feb 2026
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.
1 hour ago
Chongqing Shunbo Aluminum Plans Private Share Issuance for Battery Foil and Casing Production Expansion
1 hour ago
Chongqing Shunbo Aluminum Plans Private Share Issuance for Battery Foil and Casing Production Expansion
Read More
Chongqing Shunbo Aluminum Plans Private Share Issuance for Battery Foil and Casing Production Expansion
Chongqing Shunbo Aluminum Plans Private Share Issuance for Battery Foil and Casing Production Expansion
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.
1 hour ago
Japan's Imports Rise 10.2% YoY in Feb, Exports to US and China Decline
1 hour ago
Japan's Imports Rise 10.2% YoY in Feb, Exports to US and China Decline
Read More
Japan's Imports Rise 10.2% YoY in Feb, Exports to US and China Decline
Japan's Imports Rise 10.2% YoY in Feb, Exports to US and China Decline
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%.
1 hour ago
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: China's aluminum industry maintained stable operation in the first half of 2020, and the price of smelting products stabilized and rebounded. - Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)