Operating rates at China’s major aluminium processors increase to 77.1%, bolstered by aluminium extrusion orders

Operating rates at major aluminium processors in China rose 2.3 percentage points from a week ago to 77.1 per cent last week, ended on Friday, May 21. The overall growth was due to the significant increase in aluminium construction extrusion orders due to real estate recovery. Orders for aluminium formwork also saw a significant spike. Aluminium plate, strip and foil companies maintained full production. Operations at wire and cable companies were also stable relying on orders on hand.

More than one month of backlog orders allowed major aluminium sheet and strip companies to maintain full production in May. Orders for can stock also remained robust. Small and mid-sized enterprises reported fewer orders, leading to a slight fall in operating rates. Major aluminium plate and strip enterprises are expected to remain stable this week due to saturated orders.

Operating rates at major aluminium extrusion enterprises continued to rise. As orders were full at many major extrusion companies, there was a longer period of delivery. Recovery of the real estate industry boosted demand for construction aluminium extrusion, especially aluminium formwork. Industrial aluminium extrusion producers have been reporting strong orders since they resume production after the Chinese New Year Holiday, largely driven by car, rail transport, and electronic sectors.

Meanwhile, operating rates at aluminium foil enterprises remained flat last week as major aluminium foil manufacturers reported average backlog orders. The peak season of air-conditioning foil is also coming to an end but the decline in operating rates of air-conditioning foil companies is expected to be limited.

Operating rates at major primary aluminium alloy enterprises, on the other hand, fell 0.5 percentage point from the previous week to 61.4 per cent.