China Aluminum Output to Drop MoM in August as Cuts Outpace New Capacity, SMM Expects

SHANGHAI, Aug. 9 (SMM) – China’s aluminum production will fall in August from July’s level since production cuts will outpace commissioning of new capacity, SMM predicts.

SMM Data: China Aluminum Output Jumps in July 

In July, Shandong Weiqiao, Shandong Xinfa, Xinjiang East Hope, Inner Mongolia Jinlian, Xinjiang Jiarun and other smelters cut output, while Baotou Huayun and Sichuan Bomei, among others, added new capacity or restarted closed capacity. 

China Base Metal Output Data in July 2017, SMM Exclusive Data
SMM survey showed production cuts are still under way in August, but the cuts slowed down compared with July due to high aluminum prices. Guangxi Hualei’s phase one 400,000-tpy aluminum project and Guizhou Huaren’s phase one 500,000-tpy aluminum project will come on line soon. Baotou Hualei’s phase one and phase two aluminum project, with total capacity at 780,000 tonnes, will reach full capacity soon. These will help partly fill in supply gap from output cuts. 

SMM sees China’s aluminum output at 3.08 million tonnes in August, up 12.6% year-on-year, and annualized aluminum capacity in operation down slightly to 36.20 million tonnes.  

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