Since Q3, multiple regions including Beijing, Qinghai Province, Gansu Province, Chongqing, Shanghai, and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have introduced new policy measures regarding consumer goods trade-in. Hong Tao, vice chairman of the China Consumer Economics Society, said in an interview with reporters that consumer goods trade-in activities have a strong driving effect, benefit a wide range of people, and deliver tangible livelihood results, serving as a key lever for releasing consumption potential. Localities’ continued efforts in consumer goods trade-in help further cultivate new consumption hot topics, better meet public needs and enterprise expectations, and thereby expand domestic demand while improving people’s livelihoods. Looking at this round of actions, although the driving forces behind relevant local departments optimizing the implementation of consumer goods trade-in policies have different focuses, overall there are three main directions: optimizing implementation mechanisms, lowering subsidy thresholds, and expanding the scope of subsidized product categories. Among them, many localities have balanced two or three directions.

[Macro Expectations Repeatedly Disturb, Aluminum Prices Consolidate with Upside Encountering Resistance] Overall assessment: Short-term aluminum prices are expected to mainly consolidate, with upside room somewhat capped by expectations of production resumptions.

Sims Limited plans to invest US$21.6 million in downstream processing across its North American recycling network to increase value recovery from shredded material, including copper and other non-ferrous metals. Its North America Metal and SA Recycling operations currently span around 230 sites and 35 auto shredders, with FY26 non-ferrous sales reaching 1.228 million tonnes. Sims is also investing in copper fines processing and its Pinkenba recycling hub as strong copper demand from AI infrastructure, electrification and grid investment supports further non-ferrous recovery.

Polysilicon, wafer and cell price spikes lifted supplier offers in August, while weak international demand kept China-port FOB transactions near their early-month lows.

Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Energy Bureau completed the energy-saving report review for the South China base project of Cangzhou Mingzhu (002108) and approved the report in principle. According to the public announcement, the project is located in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, Guangdong Province, with a total investment of approximately 3.3789 billion yuan. It includes two sub-projects: a lithium battery separator and a PE pressure pipeline. The main construction contents include 8 wet-process lithium battery separator production lines and 6 PE pressure pipeline production lines. Upon completion, the project will have an annual output of 30,000 mt of PE pressure pipelines and 2.4 billion m² of wet-process separators. The separator sub-project is planned to begin production in December 2028, and the PE pressure pipeline sub-project is planned to begin production in October 2027.

Algoma Steel Group Inc. announced its Lake Superior Power (LSP) generator facility experienced an unplanned outage on one of its turbine units, resulting in suspended production on its electric arc furnace (EAF). The affected turbine went offline automatically, with no other units impacted. Algoma is working with the grid operator on alternative power and with GE Vernova on a spare turbine, and expects the outage to last under 21 days, possibly as little as 10. Current delivery dates are not expected to be affected.

India's Jindal Stainless Limited plans to invest an estimated $94 million to expand its cold rolling capacity, responding to growing demand from sectors such as automotive, appliances, and food processing, said Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal in a statement to shareholders on August 17. The investment will raise the company's cold rolling capacity from 2.05 million metric tons per year to 2.67 million metric tons per year, with the expansion expected to be completed by fiscal year 2027-28.

[SMM Analysis: From Aurubis to Nexans and Wieland: Why Are European and US Copper Companies Expanding Recycling Capacity?]European and US copper companies have accelerated investment in recycled raw materials. Copper scrap is therefore becoming more than a supplement to primary copper. It is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource that can improve raw material security, diversify earnings and reduce product carbon footprints.

[SMM Analysis: From Aurubis to Nexans and Wieland, Why Are European and American Copper Companies Collectively Ramping Up Recycled Raw Materials?] In recent years, the copper industry in Europe and the United States has significantly accelerated its push into recycled raw materials, and participants are no longer limited to traditional secondary copper smelters. From integrated smelters such as Aurubis, Boliden, and Glencore to wire-and-cable and copper-processing enterprises such as Nexans and Wieland, different segments of the industry are simultaneously strengthening their capabilities in copper scrap recycling, pretreatment, smelting, and internal recycling. This means the logic behind the development of the secondary copper industry in Europe and the United States is shifting: recycled raw materials are no longer merely a supplement to primary copper supply, but are gradually becoming an important strategic resource for companies to ensure raw material security, stabilize profit sources, and reduce the carbon footprint of their products.

As Q3 2026 reaches the halfway mark, how has recent consumption of die-cast zinc alloys performed? What are companies’ expectations for demand going forward?