【SMM Steel】South Africa's ITAC issued an affirmative final AD ruling on certain flat-rolled steel from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Chinese exporters face 6.99-47.92% duties; Japan 44.95-57.23%; Taiwan 24.20%. Products are ≥600mm wide iron, non-alloy or alloy steel, including HR coils/plate, pickled & oiled, hot-rolled, or uncoated. Excludes stainless and GOES. Duties protect the SACU market from unfair pricing.

[Copper Foil Customs Data] According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the main countries and regions from which China imported copper foil in January and February 2026 were Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Luxembourg, with imports of 8,347.43 mt, 2,009.42 mt, and 997.76 mt, respectively. In January and February 2026, the main countries and regions to which China exported copper foil were Thailand, South Korea, and Vietnam, with exports of 2,713.31 mt, 1,474.16 mt, and 792.21 mt, respectively.

As supply and demand for construction steel were not fully matched across different markets, regional supply-demand mismatches created price differentiation, which in turn drove the cross-regional circulation of steel resources. When the regional price spread gradient was appropriate, regions with surplus construction steel capacity and production often shipped excess resources out, thereby rebalancing construction steel resources across regions.

According to the latest customs data, China’s total exports of die-casting zinc alloy from January to February reached 689.33 mt, up slightly by 0.9 percentage points YoY on a cumulative basis; imports, however, totaled 48.11 million mt, down 35.46 percentage points YoY on a cumulative basis. Overall, China’s die-casting zinc alloy trade from January to February showed a pattern of slightly higher exports and a significant pullback in imports.

Following memory and packaging, a new wave of price hikes swept through the semiconductor industry chain. Mature-process wafer foundries in Taiwan, including UMC, Vanguard, and PSMC, were reported to raise quotations as early as April, by as much as 10 or even more. Major users of mature processes—IC design houses led by driver IC makers—were also expected to raise prices in response to rising costs. UMC did not comment on market rumors of price hikes, but the company had previously said that the current pricing environment was "indeed more favorable than before." In a notice, Vanguard said it planned to adjust toll processing prices starting in April 2026, but did not disclose the size of the increase. PSMC confirmed that it had gradually raised prices since the current quarter, mainly for product lines with lower gross margins.

This week (March 13, 2026–March 19, 2026), multiple enterprises in the solid-state battery sector were active: Dali Times commenced construction of a 2 GWh specialized semi-solid-state battery base; EVE’s Longquan Phase III/IV all-solid-state batteries rolled off the line in Chengdu; Chery released its 600 Wh/kg Rhino all-solid-state battery technology。

Coal prices rallied to $138 per ton in early March 2026, a 15-month high, following an Iranian drone strike on Qatar's main LNG export hub. The rare shutdown of 20% of global LNG supply has forced Asian economies, including Taiwan, to switch to coal-fired power generation, tightening the global thermal coal market.

Recently, two hydrogen-powered excavators, two hydrogen-powered loaders, and four hydrogen-powered wide-body mining trucks were officially put into operation in the Jinshan mining area, marking the implementation of the integrated “production, storage, refueling, transportation, and use” layout of Daye’s hydrogen energy industry in the application segment. This achieved the large-scale use of hydrogen-powered heavy engineering equipment in mining areas across China and injected new momentum into the green, low-carbon transformation of mines. As core equipment developed by Taiyuan Heavy Machinery, the TZ350EH hydrogen-powered excavator and TZ958EH hydrogen-powered loader worked in coordination with hydrogen-powered wide-body mining trucks, covering the entire process of mining, loading, and transportation. The equipment emitted only pure water, thoroughly improving the operating environment of traditional mining areas. This batch of hydrogen-powered equipment was deeply optimized for the complex working conditions of mines, with prominent core advantages: the hydrogen-powered excavator featured zero emissions and low noise, and could operate at full load after just five minutes of hydrogen refueling; the hydrogen-powered loader integrated hydrogen power with heavy-load performance and, equipped with proprietary technology, reduced consumption and improved efficiency; the hydrogen-powered wide-body mining truck offered fast energy replenishment, a high energy recovery rate, and excellent low-temperature starting performance, laying a solid foundation for green transportation. This large-scale deployment enabled hydrogen-powered equipment to undergo practical verification in real mining scenarios. It not only opened up a new path for the clean replacement of mining equipment, but also stabilized market demand for upstream hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, promoted coordinated development across the upstream and downstream segments of the hydrogen energy industry chain, and provided a replicable and scalable practical model for transforming traditional mining areas into green and intelligent mines.

[SMM Aluminum Flash] On the afternoon of March 6, Taiwan Lihui Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Lihui Aluminum”) grandly held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its factory in Liuying District, Tainan City for its 13th anniversary celebration and the launch of a 6,000-mt aluminum extrusion press. Qin Jie, General Manager of the Extrusion Press Division of Foshan Hengtaitai Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hengtaitai” or the “Company”), and Zhou Huanyue, General Manager of the Southeast Asia Sales Region, attended by invitation.

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Fluctuated Downward After Opening in the Night Session, and Spot Transactions Were Relatively Sluggish]