By segment, only the primary aluminium alloy sector maintained its previous operating rate, supported by the liquid aluminium alloying ratio task, while other sectors saw declines, with the rate of decline expanding compared to earlier periods. Among them, the operating rate of aluminium extrusion enterprises dropped significantly, mainly due to the Chinese New Year break cycle, with enterprises in South China gradually halting production and implementing production cuts.
The wire and cable sector recorded the second-largest decline, primarily affected by delayed end-user cargo pick-up, year-end enterprise inventory adjustments, and scattered delivery schedules. Aluminium plate/sheet, strip and foil enterprises, having largely fulfilled previously postponed export orders due to environmental protection inspections, also experienced declines in shipments and operating levels due to tightened logistics. Secondary alloy enterprises similarly faced a pre-holiday market slowdown, leading to a drop in operating rates.
Overall, affected by the holiday, the decline in downstream aluminium operating rates widened this week. Next week, as processing enterprises enter the concentrated holiday period, operating rates are expected to decline further significantly. According to SMM forecasts, the operating rate of leading downstream aluminium processing enterprises in China is expected to drop sharply by 6.9 percentage points to 50.4 per cent next week.
