AM Statistics: Chinese primary aluminum output up by 25.7% YOY in H1 2015

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Jul 15 - According to Asian Metal Database, Chinese primary aluminum output climbed up by 25.7% YOY to around 15.6 million tonnes in the first half of 2015. The increase is mainly from Xinjiang, where the primary aluminum output reached 2.9 million tonnes in the first half of 2015, up by 37.7% YOY.


Chinese primary aluminum output by month (10,000t)

In Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Gansu, the output moved up by 32%, 25% and 23% year-on-year respectively to around 1.54 million tonnes, 3.44 million tonnes and 1.37 million tonnes from January to June. Power charges in those provinces are around RMB0.1-0.37/kwh and overall costs are lower, so smelters continued to increase output.

However, in Henan and Qinghai, power charges are higher at around RMB0.39-0.45/kwh, so the primary aluminum output declined by 11% and 3.8% YOY respectively to around 1.47 million tonnes and 1.12 million tonnes in the first half of 2015.

We can see details by the following graph:


Chinese primary aluminum output by major provinces by month (10,000t)

In the second half of 2015, new primary aluminum capacities will continue to release. In Xinjiang, it is predicted that new projects with 1.15 million tonnes of capacity will be launched. The output increase from other countries will become slow. In Qinghai, the output will continue to decline due to high costs.