Aluminium plate / sheet and strip exports up 18% Y-o-Y and M-o-M in April; North American redirected orders support Q2 exports

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According to customs data, China's aluminium plate/sheet and strip (tariff codes 76061121, 76061129, 76061191, 76061199, 76061220, 76061230, 76061251, 76061259, 76061290, 76069100, 76069200) exports totalled 327,900 tonnes in April 2026, up 18 per cent M-o-M and up 18 per cent Y-o-Y.

By trade mode, in April 2026, China's aluminium plate/sheet and strip exports via processing trade with imported materials were approximately 52,000 tonnes, accounting for 15.8 per cent; exports via processing trade with supplied materials were approximately 6,400 tonnes, accounting for 1.9 per cent.

By country, the top five destinations for China's aluminium plate/sheet and strip exports in April 2026 were Mexico (45,000 tonnes, 14 per cent), the US (34,800 tonnes, 11 per cent), Vietnam (22,800 tonnes, 7 per cent), South Korea (20,100 tonnes, 6 per cent), and India (1.52 tonnes, 5 per cent), with the remaining countries collectively accounting for approximately 57 per cent.

Notably, exports to the US climbed from 15,000 tonnes in October last year to 36,000 tonnes in March this year on a monthly basis and remained flat M-o-M at 34,800 tonnes in April, indicating that the support from redirected orders due to the North American fire at an industry leader's North American plant remained solid. The fire occurred in Q4 2025, and the affected plant is expected to resume production in June this year.

Until then, can stock and automotive sheet orders undertaken by Chinese enterprises will continue to contribute to export growth. Trade mode side, processing trade with imported materials accounted for 52,000 tonnes (15.8 per cent), processing trade with supplied materials for 6,400 tonnes (1.9 per cent), with Ordinary Trade still dominant.

In March, affected by the Israel-Iran conflict and the deterioration of security conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, insurance companies refused to cover cargo entering or exiting the region. All of China's aluminium plate/sheet, strip and foil orders involving the Middle East were suspended, with some in-transit cargo returned or stranded at ports.

Entering April, the situation showed marginal easing: some enterprises chose to reroute via the Red Sea to resume shipments, backlogged orders in the Middle East were gradually delivered, and new orders resumed. Specifically, aluminium plate/sheet and strip exports to the UAE rebounded from 1,580.9 tonnes in March to 6,029.2 tonnes in April.

However, according to SMM survey feedback, the overall recovery rate in the Middle East remained low, with a large number of clients yet to resume placing orders. Rerouting via the Red Sea was also not a mainstream shipping route, still far from normal export levels. Nevertheless, this recovery signal at least indicated that the trade chain was not completely frozen. If the strait situation does not deteriorate further, the Middle East market is expected to gradually return to normal.

Based on historical data, China's total aluminium plate/sheet and strip exports were 3.4256 million tonnes in 2024 and 3.0741 million tonnes in 2025, down 10.26 per cent Y-o-Y. Cumulative exports from January to April 2026 were already up 13.5 per cent Y-o-Y. Against the backdrop of continued global aluminium raw material shortages, it is not impossible for full-year exports to recover the ground lost in 2025.

Under optimistic expectations, if the North American fire-related redirected orders maintain some stickiness beyond the June production resumption, Middle East rerouted shipments gradually become normalised, and the ex-China aluminium shortage persists, full-year 2026 exports are expected to reach 3.5 million tonnes. Under conservative expectations, if the North American plant resumes production on schedule in June leading to a pullback in exports to the US, Middle East recovery falls short of expectations, and H2 demand weakens due to earlier front-loading consumption, full-year exports would be approximately 3.2 million tonnes.

Note: This article has been issued by SMM and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.