Imports of unwrought aluminum alloy rebounded by 11.8% MoM in May 2025[SMM Analysis]

Recently, the General Administration of Customs released the import and export data for May 2025. According to customs data:
In May 2025, imports of unwrought aluminum alloy reached 97,000 mt, down 12.1% YoY and up 11.8% MoM. From January to May 2025, cumulative imports totaled 464,900 mt, down 11.5% YoY.
In May 2025, exports of unwrought aluminum alloy reached 24,200 mt, up 0.3% YoY and up 46.1% MoM. From January to May 2025, cumulative exports totaled 94,500 mt, down 1.4% YoY.

From the perspective of import sources, the top five countries in terms of China's unwrought aluminum alloy imports in May 2025 were Malaysia (25,900 mt, accounting for 26.7%), Russia (21,400 mt, accounting for 22.1%), Indonesia (12,200 mt, accounting for 12.6%), South Korea (9,100 mt, accounting for 9.4%), and Thailand (8,900 mt, accounting for 9.1%). Compared with April, imports from Malaysia and Thailand declined, while imports from Russia (up 10,000 mt MoM), Indonesia (up 7,000 mt MoM), and South Korea (up 6,000 mt MoM) increased, making these countries the main contributors to the incremental growth. Notably, Malaysia, as the largest source, saw its share fall below 40% for the first time this year.

In terms of exports, Japan was the largest destination for China's domestic aluminum alloy ingot exports in May 2025, with exports reaching 13,600 mt, accounting for approximately 56%, followed by India and Thailand, mainly through processing trade modes.

In May 2025, the top five provinces in China by imports of unwrought aluminum alloy were Zhejiang (26,500 mt, accounting for 27.3%), Shandong (26,200 mt, accounting for 27.0%), Henan (11,100 mt, accounting for 11.4%), Jiangsu (9,800 mt, accounting for 10.2%), and Guangdong (7,400 mt, accounting for 7.6%), with the remaining provinces collectively accounting for approximately 16%. Among them, Zhejiang's imports saw a sharp decline of 14,000 mt from April, causing its share to drop from 46% to 27%, while Shandong and Henan experienced significant increases of 17,000 mt and 9,000 mt, respectively, compared to April.

Overall, in May 2025, imports of unwrought aluminum alloy increased MoM, ending a four-month consecutive decline, but still showed a YoY decline. Currently, overseas quotes for ADC12 have risen by $50/mt from the beginning of the month to $2,420-2,450/mt, while import spot prices have only slightly increased by 100-200 yuan/mt to around 19,200 yuan/mt, leading to an expansion of immediate import losses to the range of 600-800 yuan/mt. It is expected that aluminum alloy imports will decline in June and July, with monthly imports continuing to remain below 100,000 mt.