According to data from Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network (SMM), China imported a total of 1.17 million tons of scrap aluminum from January to July 2025, an increase of 7.34% compared to 1.09 million tons in the same period of 2024.
Thailand, Malaysia, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea exported a total of 696900 tons to China during the same period, an increase of 11% year-on-year. Their proportion in China's total aluminum scrap imports increased from 57.61% to 59.56%, indicating a further increase in China's dependence on these regions.
From the monthly trend, Thailand, as the largest single supplier, has a significant impact on the total volume due to its shipping pace. In January 2025, it continued to operate at a low level since the second half of 2024; Since February, Thailand's export volume has rapidly increased, driving a sustained rebound in total imports; In May, due to a sharp decrease in Thai exports, the total import volume began to decline, and from June to July, it entered the stage of platform consolidation.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year: EU exports of scrap aluminum to China are expected to slightly decline but remain stable overall, and the final outcome will highly depend on the EU's response to subsequent US tariff policies; In Southeast Asia, due to the tightening of export restrictions on scrap aluminum from Malaysia and Malaysia, as well as the increasing demand for scrap aluminum locally, it is difficult for scrap aluminum exported to China to rebound significantly in the short term. In terms of price, based on the CIF price of imported crushed aluminum slices from Ningbo Port, SMM expects that the short-term CIF price of imported crushed aluminum slices will still rise moderately in the range of 18600-19000 yuan/ton.
