Aluminium wheel exports from China shrink 26% M-o-M to 65,400 tonnes in October 2021

As per the data recently shown by China customs, the country’s aluminium wheel exports in October 2021 recorded a decrease of 25.79 per cent month-on-month to 65,400 tonnes. On a year-on-year calculation, the exports stood 21.28 per cent lower, contributed primarily by Hebei and Guangdong as they saw the sharpest decline during the said month.

From Hebei, aluminium wheel exports in October stood at 13,800 tonnes, down by 35.19 per cent from 21,200 tonnes in September. Exports from Guangdong came in at only 2,500 tonnes after being decreased by 60.52 per cent from the previous month.

The exports from Shandong, Zhejiang, Tianjin, and Shanghai also fell significantly.

China’s top five export destinations of aluminium wheel were the United States, Japan, Mexico, West Korea, and Thailand. Except for South Korea, the export volume to the other four countries decreased month-on-month. For instance, to the United States, China’s aluminium wheel exports in October fell 32.39 per cent, while the exports to Japan, Mexico, and Thailand shrank 20.69 per cent, 13.83 per cent, and 31.67 per cent, respectively. Thus, the total exports to the top five countries decreased by 16,200 tonnes on the month.

According to SMM analysis, most of the aluminium wheels exported in October 2021 were produced in August and September. Due to the beginning of price surge in silicon since August, alloy factories started adjusting their processing fees, which led to a chaos in the alloy-wheel sector and aggravated wait-and-watch sentiment among enterprises. Thus, the aluminium wheel plants were less willing to produce.

The market situation remained the same in September; hence, many alloy plants reduced or suspended the production of A356 alloy. SMM projects the exports are hard to recover to above 80,000 tonnes in November and December.