On May 14-15, 2026, SMM WCCE 2026 (4th) Wire & Cable Industry Development Conference and Industrial Exhibition will grandly open at Suzhou International Conference Hotel, focusing on precise matchmaking across the cable industry chain. The exhibition centers on full-chain resource integration and efficient supply-demand matching, building a quality bridge for business negotiation and technical exchange among industry partners. Inner Mongolia Yihao Aluminum Co., Ltd. As a modern manufacturing enterprise integrating R&D, production, sales, and services, the company has been dedicated to aluminum-based materials in the fields of power transmission and new energy equipment. Inner Mongolia Yihao Aluminum Co., Ltd. was established in March 2025, located in Baotou Aluminum Industry Park, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region , with 6 continuous casting and rolling production lines, equipped with wire drawing, annealing, stranding and other processing equipment and auxiliary production facilities. Main Products include high-precision aluminum alloy connecting rods, high-end electrical round aluminum rods, aluminum monofilaments, enamelled wire, high-conductivity stranded wire, overhead cables, high-end automotive parts, etc. Yihao Aluminum covers an area of 50,000 m², has 300 employees, and possesses an annual capacity of 150kt of electrical round aluminum rods. Inner Mongolia Yihao Aluminum Co., Ltd. is a core material supplier focused on the fields of power transmission and new energy equipment. Deeply engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of electrical round aluminum rods, it provides cost-effective aluminum-based material solutions for wire and cable, overhead conductor, and high-end electrical equipment manufacturing. Core Business and Capacity Scale Main Products: Centered on electrical round aluminum rods, covering ordinary industrial pure aluminum rods (conductivity ≥61% IACS), high-conductivity aluminum rods (conductivity ≥63% IACS), and special aluminum alloy rods (tensile strength ≥180MPa), with customizable products in specifications ranging from Φ9.5 to Φ15. Capacity Strength: Equipped with 6 modern continuous casting and rolling production lines, with an annual capacity of 150kt, of which high-conductivity aluminum rods and special aluminum alloy rods account for over 40%, meeting the rapid delivery needs of large-scale orders. Product Advantages and Technical Features Performance Advantages: Raw materials use industrial pure aluminum with purity ≥99.8%. Products feature stable resistivity and smooth, defect-free surfaces, passing rigorous mechanical and electrical conductivity detection, suitable for high-end scenarios such as ultra-high voltage power transmission and high-speed railway catenary systems. Quality Control: A full-process quality inspection system has been established from raw material intake to finished product warehouse withdrawals, in compliance with GB/T 3954-2022 national standard, equipped with detection equipment, with a product qualification rate consistently above 99.85% . Market and Application Fields Key Clients: Serving over 20 large cable enterprises in China, with products widely applied in State Grid Corporation of China distribution network renovation, China Southern Power Grid UHV projects, as well as PV power stations, NEV charging piles, metro power supply systems, and other fields. Market Coverage: The Chinese market covers core areas of power demand including east China, south China, and north China. Product Showcase Upholding the development philosophy of "Technology as Foundation, Green Empowerment" , Yihao Aluminum will continue to invest in R&D of high-conductivity rare earth aluminum alloy rods and low-carbon secondary aluminum technologies, striving to build a benchmark enterprise in electrical aluminum materials with integrated "R&D-Production-Service" capabilities , contributing to the upgrade of global power infrastructure and the achievement of the "Dual Carbon" goals. Committed to becoming a leading provider of electrical round aluminum rod solutions in China. May 14-15, 2026, Jiangsu · Suzhou International Conference Hotel , friends from all sectors are welcome to attend the conference in person and visit the booth of Soochow Futures Co., Ltd. (E06) to experience up close the technical strength and product appeal of this established futures company, explore new cooperation opportunities, and open a new chapter for the industry together. SMM WCCE 2026 (4th) Wire & Cable Industry Development Conference and Industrial Exhibition May 14-15 Jiangsu · Suzhou International Conference Hotel Participating Enterprises: Qifan Cable, Kunyi Cable, Senyuan Cable, Sanwu Cable, Huili Cable, Wanma Co., Ltd., Xinhai High Conductivity, Chenfeng Yongliang, Xinhuang Group, Soochow Futures, Guojia Conductor, Hongxing Meike, Dongfeng Cable, Qijia Industrial, Beijing Shougang Ferroalloy, Xinhongye, Yingtan Chaolong, Meichuangli, Jiuli Electric, Xinzi Nengke, Xindongang Electrical, Hangtian Electrical, Guochu Logistics, Jielüda, Jinhuijia, Xindian Aluminum Alloy, Gangwei Ultrasonic, Jinrui Qianyuan... Click to View ☛ ｜

April 24, 2026: According to SMM statistics, as of April 24, 2026, in-factory days of inventories at aluminum rod plants in China stood at 9.02 days, up 0.68 days from before the holiday. In terms of inventory ratio, the in-factory inventory ratio at aluminum rod plants in China was 97.22%. During the week, aluminum prices moved sideways and remained in the doldrums, while aluminum rod processing fee quotes stayed stable. By region, as of April 24, 2026, aluminum rod processing fee quotes were concentrated at 350-450 yuan/mt in Jiangsu, 250-350 yuan/mt in Hebei, and 350-450 yuan/mt in South China. For aluminum rod processing fees in other regions, quotes were 150-250 yuan/mt in Shandong, 150-250 yuan/mt in Inner Mongolia, and 250-350 yuan/mt in Henan. Recently, aluminum rod inventory showed a gradual accumulation trend, mainly because aluminum prices continued to fluctuate at highs, downstream wait-and-see sentiment was strong, purchasing sentiment was weak, and market capacity remained ample, leading to continued low-level competition in processing fees. This week, the weekly operating rate of the aluminum wire and cable industry in China rose to 67.6%, up 0.4 percentage points WoW. After the previous surge in power grid demand, orders at aluminum wire producers in China trended toward stability, with top-tier enterprises maintaining a normal production pace. On the export front, as the price spread between ex-China and domestic markets widened further, and given that aluminum stranded wire enjoys a 13% export tax rebate and has aluminum content close to that of aluminum ingots, the cost of exporting aluminum stranded wire and re-melting it into aluminum ingots outside China was lower than purchasing aluminum ingots directly ex-China. Driven by the profit spread, plants in Hebei regained new orders, and production schedule expectations rebounded significantly. Therefore, against the backdrop of surging export orders, the capacity utilization rate in the industry is expected to further rebound, with operating rates at plants staying high.

On March 27, Dongxing Aluminum achieved its production targets for key products such as electrolytic aluminum, aluminum coils, and aluminum rods in the first quarter. Among them, the output of electrolytic aluminum was 425,800 tons, aluminum coils were 160,100 tons, and aluminum rods were 30,200 tons. The electrolytic cell operation rate reached a maximum of 99.9%, and the on-site conversion rate of molten aluminum reached 95.7%.

This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China rebounded 1.1 percentage points MoM to 64%.

On March 16th, Dongxing Aluminum held a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of its high-end electrical round aluminum rod continuous casting and rolling project. The project has a planned total capacity of 200,000 tons per year and will be constructed in two phases. The first phase, with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year, is scheduled for completion by the end of December this year. Guided by the principles of "intelligentization, greening, and integration," the project leverages the company's existing high-quality electrolytic aluminum resources to produce L3 and above series of high-strength, high-conductivity aluminum alloy guide rods, with high-end products accounting for over 50%.

On the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026, the groundbreaking, commissioning, and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the aluminum rod project of Tianfu Jiangdong Technology (Meishan) Co., Ltd. was grandly held at the Meishan plant. Attending the ceremony were Yang Weidong, Deputy Director of the Ganmei Industrial Park Administrative Committee; Liu Lin, Director of the Economic Development Bureau of Ganmei Industrial Park; Xu Jihong, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Meishan Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd.; Shuai Qi, Party Secretary and Chairman of Sichuan Qimingxing Aluminum Co., Ltd.; Wang Xinxin, Executive Deputy General Manager of Sichuan Tianfu Jiangdong Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Tianfu Jiangdong”); and other leaders and guests.

According to SMM, as of February 27, 2026, the days of inventories for domestic aluminum rod plants were recorded at 12.7 days, an increase of 8.6 days from before the holiday.In the first week after the holiday, the weekly operating rate of the domestic aluminum wire and cable industry rebounded to 57%, up 4 percentage points MoM, significantly higher than the pre-holiday low of 53%.

According to SMM, as of February 27, 2026, the days of inventories for domestic aluminum rod plants were recorded at 12.7 days, an increase of 8.6 days from before the holiday.In the first week after the holiday, the weekly operating rate of the domestic aluminum wire and cable industry rebounded to 57%, up 4 percentage points MoM, significantly higher than the pre-holiday low of 53%.

According to SMM's latest monthly data survey, the total production of aluminum rods nationwide in May 2025 was 417,000 mt, an increase of 10,500 mt from April. After adjusting for the number of days in the month, the operating rate of aluminum rod plants in May was recorded at 62.15%, down 1.01% MoM and up 5.95% YoY. In the first half of May, due to the in the doldrums of aluminum prices and sufficient profit margins from orders on hand in the downstream sector, the market's purchasing efforts did not significantly weaken. Coupled with the industry still being in a concentrated shipping cycle, the supply side was able to maintain fluctuations at highs. However, in the second half of May, LME aluminum prices held up well due to the scarcity of aluminum ingots circulating in the market, while there was a noticeable weakening trend in industry deliveries. Consequently, market conditions took a sharp turn for the worse, and processing fees pulled back rapidly.

Details of the hot topics in the aluminum market in May are as follows......