[Secondary Aluminum and Aluminum Scrap Weekly Review: Cost Support and Weak Demand in a Tug-of-War; Short-Term ADC12 Prices Maintain Sideways Movement] This week, ADC12 prices continued to move sideways. As of today, the SMM ADC12 quotation was adjusted down by 100 yuan/mt from last Thursday to 24,000 yuan/mt. During the week, cost support from aluminum scrap remained, and enterprises showed little willingness to voluntarily cut prices. However, constrained by weak off-season demand, prices lacked upward momentum. The overall market exhibited a tug-of-war pattern characterized by "selling at stable prices and transacting based on orders.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Express] This week, China's social inventory of cast aluminum alloy ingots dropped to 25,900 mt, a decrease of 3,800 mt WoW, with inventories having been destocking for eight consecutive weeks and accumulating a cumulative decline of 37,000 mt. However, the destocking speed slowed further compared to the earlier period. The industry's operating rate remained low, limiting new arrivals into warehouses; meanwhile, spot merchants focused on selling, continuing to drive inventory digestion. However, as the traditional consumption off-season deepened further, overall market demand was weak, placing some constraints on the destocking amplitude.

The global automotive industry is accelerating its transition to low-carbon and intelligent technologies, with China’s automotive industry moving from scale advantages to dual leadership in technology and supply chains. In 2025, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China exceeded 50%, driving the upgrading of automotive materials such as aluminum, steel, and magnesium, and causing a surge in demand for lightweight new materials. Combined with the implementation of the EU carbon tariff, the low-carbon transformation of the industry chain is imminent. As the 15th Five-Year Plan begins and the dual carbon goals deepen, the industry urgently needs a professional platform to address material and technical challenges. Against this backdrop, will be held on September 10-11, 2026 in Shanghai , SMM partnering with the exclusive title sponsor of drinking water - Anhui Xiongchuang Aluminum Alloy New Material Co., Ltd. , sincerely invites industry colleagues to participate, promoting the deep evolution of the automotive supply chain towards green, lightweight, intelligent, and globalized directions. Click to attend, and we look forward to meeting you at the conference. Anhui Xiongchuang Aluminum Alloy New Material Co., Ltd. was founded in October 2018, with a registered capital of 100 million yuan, located at No. 12 Yanghuai Road, Suixi County Economic Development Zone, Huaibei City, Anhui Province. It is a private enterprise integrating research, production, and sales of new-type aluminum alloy materials. The company covers a total site area of 63,603 m², approximately 95.5 mu. The planned total building area is 32,000 m², complemented by supporting public auxiliary projects. The total project investment is approximately 150 million yuan, of which construction investment is 95 million yuan. The overall designed capacity is 150,000 mt per year. The main products are various grades of high-quality cast aluminum alloy ingots, aluminum alloy liquid, and secondary aluminum alloy rods, primarily applied in fields such as automotive and new energy. The main production equipment selects domestically advanced high-efficiency energy-saving automatic melting furnaces, achieving high efficiency, energy saving, reduced slagging, and improved aluminum liquid purity. The production equipment, technical level, and economic indicators have reached the advanced level of similar domestic production processes. The company is committed to the research and manufacturing of aluminum as an substitute for steel and copper, promoting the lightweighting of automotive, rail transit, and aerospace components to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction, and protect the global environment. For every mt of secondary aluminum recycled, we can reduce ore mining by 11 mt, cut carbon dioxide emissions by 0.8 mt, reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 0.6 mt, lower solid scrap discharge by 20 mt, save 22 m³ of water, and conserve 14,000 kWh of electricity. Advancing with unstoppable momentum, breaking through through innovation! Xiongchuang Aluminum builds its backbone with integrity and creates brilliance with service! In the future, we will fully leverage our industrial advantages, integrate resources from all sides, focus on market development directions, and create greater value for our clients. Contact Information Mr. Liu 181 0561 3888 Mr. Yang 151 3040 8133 SMM Conference Contact Lv Junlei 176 1601 9596 lvjunlei@smm.cn

[Aluminum Scrap and Secondary Aluminum Weekly Review: Secondary Aluminum Market Moved Sideways, Off-Season Supply-Demand Weakness Pattern Continued] This week, aluminum scrap prices moved sideways overall. On July 16, SMM A00 spot aluminum prices closed at 23,170 yuan/mt, rebounding 220 yuan/mt from last Thursday. Regarding the price difference, on July 16, the price difference between A00 aluminum and mixed aluminum extrusion scrap free of paint in Foshan was 1,972 yuan/mt, and the price difference between A00 aluminum and shredded aluminum tense scrap was 658 yuan/mt, still at extremely low levels.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Flash] This week, China's social inventory of cast aluminum alloy ingots fell 5,600 mt WoW to 29,700 mt, marking the seventh consecutive week of destocking. Cumulative destocking reached 33,200 mt, but the pace slowed compared to the prior two weeks. The industry operating rate remains low, with limited new warehouse inflows. Meanwhile, the spot-futures price spread stayed in a relatively favorable range, prompting traders to focus on selling, which drove continuous destocking. However, as the traditional consumption off-season deepens, overall market demand remains weak, constraining the destocking magnitude to some extent.

[SMM Aluminum Flash] China's daily inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots across major consumption regions stood at 11,900 mt today, down 109 mt from the previous trading day.

[SMM Magnesium Express]Yesterday, Jiangxi Zhongke Yamei New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., after 17 years of technological research, achieved a full closed-loop process from magnesium alloy smelting, extrusion, and die casting to waste recycling, overcoming the safe recycling technology for magnesium alloy cutting waste, further reducing comprehensive production costs by 10%. The company, established in Fuzhou High-Tech Zone, leverages the local new energy vehicle industry ecosystem. Its customized automotive magnesium alloy components for BYD have entered the prototype verification stage, aiming to increase magnesium usage per vehicle from the current approximately 10 kilograms to 50 kilograms by 2028. Upon full production capacity, the company can annually produce 100,000 tons of magnesium alloy ingots and 20,000 tons of high-performance lightweight components, with an annual output value expected to exceed 3 billion yuan. With the maturation of the full-process technology and capacity release, the large-scale application of magnesium alloy in the new energy vehicle sector is expected to accelerate.

Recently, the People's Government of Bairin Right Banner and Inner Mongolia Ningbang Supply Chain Technology Co., Ltd. signed an investment agreement. The project will be located in the Bairin Right Industrial Park, with a total investment of 1.25 billion yuan and fixed asset investment of 1.05 billion yuan. The first phase of the project will cover an area of 100 mu, with an additional 200 mu reserved for supporting facilities. It will build 10 intelligent secondary aluminum melting and refining production lines, with an annual output of 300,000 mt of high-grade secondary aluminum alloy ingots, and simultaneously construct rare and precious metal extraction and environmental protection facilities.

Chongqing Jinjiufeng Aluminum Co., Ltd. plans to build a secondary aluminum processing project with an annual capacity of 10,000 mt. The project is currently in the environmental impact assessment information disclosure stage. The total investment is 50 million yuan, mainly for constructing one secondary aluminum alloy ingot production line, along with supporting utility, auxiliary, storage and transportation, and environmental protection works. The secondary aluminum alloy ingot production line will be equipped with an aluminum scrap pretreatment system, a smelting/refining/casting ingot system, and an aluminum dross treatment system. The main equipment of the aluminum scrap pretreatment system includes one crushing and screening machine, one magnetic-eddy current separator, and one paint stripping furnace; the main equipment of the smelting/refining/casting ingot system includes one 35 mt double-chamber smelting furnace, one 20 mt smelting furnace, and one casting ingot line; the main equipment of the aluminum dross treatment system includes two dross stirring machines, one dross cooling machine, and one ball mill screening machine.

[SMM Analysis: Glimmer of Hope amid Weak Supply and Demand: Review of China's Aluminum Billets Market in H1 2026 and Outlook for H2] In H1 2026, China’s aluminum billets market, squeezed by wild swings in aluminum prices and a slow recovery in end-use demand, underwent a turbulent journey from deep pressure to staged repair...