The latest research on the secondary alloy ingot sector by SMM: In 2024, except for the brief opening of the import window in January and March at the beginning of the year, the aluminum spot import window was closed for most of the time, which was the primary reason for the decline in secondary alloy ingot trade volume.

Other reasons for the loss of price advantage for domestic secondary alloy ingots include: the sources of secondary alloy ingots in Vietnam and other places are more inclined to flow into Japan and South Korea, where spot premiums are higher; the rising raw material costs of foreign factories often lead to shortages of materials for aluminum cans; the strict supervision of customs departments makes it difficult for some low-quality sources to enter. With the shrinking import volume, the price of secondary alloy ingots has risen, but there is a "price without a market", and the downstream generally chooses other more cost-effective domestic raw materials as substitutes.