Countdown to winter: Xinjiang aluminium smelters delay alumina stockpiling amid price surge

One regular feature of the primary aluminium group in China is the preparation for winter. If your aluminium smelter is a thousand miles from anywhere, such as those in places like Xinjiang, you want to make sure you are well covered in terms of alumina supply.

Those plants rely on alumina coming by train from refineries in Shanxi and other eastern and central provinces. The snow and blizzards that come with winter can shut down those railway lines. So, the AZ Global team has been monitoring the alumina inventory levels at those far-flung plants and discovered that so far, the inventory levels are not building. It's down to the price stand-off in the market right now.

 
Alumina prices are high, underpinned by bauxite shortages. Smelters are reluctant to build inventory right now and prefer to wait for some price relief. Xinjiang gets its first snow events starting in mid-October most years, so there's not much time left. - create multiple headlines