According to customs data, China's aluminum plate/sheet and strip (tariff codes 76061121, 76061129, 76061191, 76061199, 76061220, 76061230, 76061251, 76061259, 76061290, 76069100, 76069200) exports totaled 327,900 mt in April 2026, up 18% MoM and up 18% YoY.
By trade mode, in April 2026, China's aluminum plate/sheet and strip exports via processing trade with imported materials were approximately 52,000 mt, accounting for 15.8%; exports via processing trade with supplied materials were approximately 6,400 mt, accounting for 1.9%.
By country, the top five destinations for China's aluminum plate/sheet and strip exports in April 2026 were Mexico (45,000 mt, 14%), the US (34,800 mt, 11%), Vietnam (22,800 mt, 7%), South Korea (20,100 mt, 6%), and India (1.52 mt, 5.0%), with the remaining countries collectively accounting for approximately 57%. Notably, exports to the US climbed from 15,000 mt in October last year to 36,000 mt in March this year on a monthly basis, and remained flat MoM at 34,800 mt in April, indicating that the support from redirected orders due to the North American fire at an industry leader's North American plant remained solid. The fire occurred in Q4 2025, and the affected plant is expected to resume production in June this year. Until then, can stock and automotive sheet orders undertaken by Chinese enterprises will continue to contribute to export growth. Trade mode side, processing trade with imported materials accounted for 52,000 mt (15.8%), processing trade with supplied materials for 6,400 mt (1.9%), with Ordinary Trade still dominant.
In March, affected by the Israel-Iran conflict and the deterioration of security conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, insurance companies refused to cover cargo entering or exiting the region. All of China's aluminum plate/sheet, strip and foil orders involving the Middle East were suspended, with some in-transit cargo returned or stranded at ports. Entering April, the situation showed marginal easing: some enterprises chose to reroute via the Red Sea to resume shipments, backlogged orders in the Middle East were gradually delivered, and new orders resumed. Specifically, aluminum plate/sheet and strip exports to the UAE rebounded from 1,580.9 mt in March to 6,029.2 mt in April. However, according to SMM survey feedback, the overall recovery rate in the Middle East remained low, with a large number of clients yet to resume placing orders. Rerouting via the Red Sea was also not a mainstream shipping route, still far from normal export levels. Nevertheless, this recovery signal at least indicated that the trade chain was not completely frozen. If the strait situation does not deteriorate further, the Middle East market is expected to gradually return to normal.
Based on historical data, China's total aluminum plate/sheet and strip exports were 3.4256 million mt in 2024 and 3.0741 million mt in 2025, down 10.26% YoY. Cumulative exports from January to April 2026 were already up 13.5% YoY. Against the backdrop of continued global aluminum raw material shortages, it is not impossible for full-year exports to recover the ground lost in 2025. Under optimistic expectations, if the North American fire-related redirected orders maintain some stickiness beyond the June production resumption, Middle East rerouted shipments gradually become normalized, and the ex-China aluminum shortage persists, full-year 2026 exports are expected to reach 3.5 million mt. Under conservative expectations, if the North American plant resumes production on schedule in June leading to a pullback in exports to the US, Middle East recovery falls short of expectations, and H2 demand weakens due to earlier front-loading consumption, full-year exports would be approximately 3.2 million mt.
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