China's aluminium sector witnesses less pour, more productivity

China's primary aluminium industry is pouring less and enjoying it more.

Liquid metal transfers increased in the first quarter of 2024. According to our research, the volume of raw metal poured into ingot dropped by about 20 per cent compared to 2023 Q1. That's despite an overall increase in primary metal output of just under 4 per cent for the same period.

In 2024, many downstream companies operated through the Spring Holiday period, allowing smelters to continue directly supplying liquid metal.

Smelters benefit by shipping the metal in liquid form to their customers. For customers, they don't have to remelt the metal, saving them energy and time. It's the inverse for smelters - they don't have to pour the metal into ingots and wait for the metal to cool so it can be transported. There's a small increased cost, as the trucks like the one in the image above are more expensive.

But there's an additional benefit for smelters, indirectly. Lower ingot production leads to lower ingot availability for the spot/physical market, pushing metal prices up.