[SMM Analysis] Buyer Caution Keeps Aluminum Rod Processing Fees at Lows

April 24,  2026:  

According to SMM statistics, as of April 24, 2026, in-factory days of inventories at aluminum rod plants in China stood at 9.02 days, up 0.68 days from before the holiday. In terms of inventory ratio, the in-factory inventory ratio at aluminum rod plants in China was 97.22%.

During the week, aluminum prices moved sideways and remained in the doldrums, while aluminum rod processing fee quotes stayed stable. By region, as of April 24, 2026, aluminum rod processing fee quotes were concentrated at 350-450 yuan/mt in Jiangsu, 250-350 yuan/mt in Hebei, and 350-450 yuan/mt in South China. For aluminum rod processing fees in other regions, quotes were 150-250 yuan/mt in Shandong, 150-250 yuan/mt in Inner Mongolia, and 250-350 yuan/mt in Henan. Recently, aluminum rod inventory showed a gradual accumulation trend, mainly because aluminum prices continued to fluctuate at highs, downstream wait-and-see sentiment was strong, purchasing sentiment was weak, and market capacity remained ample, leading to continued low-level competition in processing fees.

This week, the weekly operating rate of the aluminum wire and cable industry in China rose to 67.6%, up 0.4 percentage points WoW. After the previous surge in power grid demand, orders at aluminum wire producers in China trended toward stability, with top-tier enterprises maintaining a normal production pace. On the export front, as the price spread between ex-China and domestic markets widened further, and given that aluminum stranded wire enjoys a 13% export tax rebate and has aluminum content close to that of aluminum ingots, the cost of exporting aluminum stranded wire and re-melting it into aluminum ingots outside China was lower than purchasing aluminum ingots directly ex-China. Driven by the profit spread, plants in Hebei regained new orders, and production schedule expectations rebounded significantly. Therefore, against the backdrop of surging export orders, the capacity utilization rate in the industry is expected to further rebound, with operating rates at plants staying high.