According to China customs data, China’s aluminium wheels exports amounted to 72,600 tonnes in December 2023, reflecting a month-on-month fall of 6 per cent but a year-on-year hike of 9 per cent. The total export volume through the year, thus, stood at 934,000 tonnes, up by 58,500 tonnes from the previous year.
China’s top five export destinations
The top five export destinations in December were the United States, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Thailand. Of them all, the United States was the highest importer, accounting for 28 per cent of China’s total aluminium wheels exports, followed by Japan, accounting for 23 per cent; Mexico, accounting for 11 per cent; South Korea for 9 per cent; and Thailand for 4 per cent.
It is to be noted here that the gap in aluminium wheel export volume between the United States and Japan continued to be less than 5,000 tonnes, and the structure of aluminium wheel export destinations remained stable.
Grown but not grown
SMM believes that although the export volume of aluminium wheels from China has increased in 2023, it has yet to show an outstanding figure compared with the previous five years. The recession and inflation in many parts of the world, coupled with anti-dumping policies, could be a reason for the slow growth. The current international situation is still being determined with a slow market in several major aluminium wheel export markets, such as the United States, Japan, and Mexico.
SMM predicts that aluminium wheel exports from China will continue to be bearish for the short term due to factors like anti-dumping policies and sluggish global automobile consumption.
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