China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports show uptick in Nov’23 for the second month in a row

According to China customs data, the country’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports in November 2023 experienced a month-on-month rise of 2.6 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 5.6 per cent to reach 111,800 tonnes. That brought the total year-to-date imports to 1.0196 million tonnes, which was down by 14 per cent Y-o-Y.

China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports in November marked a consecutive rise for the second month as the imports in October grew 17.5 per cent month-on-month and 9.2 per cent year-on-year, reaching 108,900 tonnes.

The top five import sources in November were Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, and Russia. Malaysia accounted for 41.8 per cent of China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports, exporting 46,700 tonnes, followed by Thailand’s exports of 12,800 tonnes, accounting for 11.4 per cent of China’s total imports. Vietnam exported 12,300 tonnes of alloy, accounting for 11 per cent; South Korea exported 7,600 tonnes, accounting for 6.8 per cent; and Russia exported 5,900 tonnes, accounting for 5.2 per cent of China’s imports.

Imports from Thailand and Vietnam increased by 2,700 tonnes month-on-month, while those from Malaysia decreased by 2,900 tonnes. Due to booming automobile consumption in Japan, Malaysia and other countries exported more aluminium alloy ingots to Japan and less to China.

As far as exports are concerned, China’s unwrought aluminium alloy exports in November 2023 were 15,700 tonnes, down by 17 per cent year-on-year but up by 1.7 per cent month-on-month. Total exports from January to November 2023 amounted to 221,800 tonnes, 8.3 per cent more year-on-year.

Exports to Japan increased in November to 8,400 tonnes. Its proportion also rose from 40 per cent to 53 per cent.

SMM estimates China’s aluminium alloy ingot imports in December to remain around 100,000 tonnes, with annual imports approximately at 1.12 million tonnes, down 12 per cent Y-o-Y.