China's aluminum processing industry presents a divergent phenomenon and high-end aluminum develops into a breakthrough

Due to the diversification of China's aluminum processing industry, the profits of domestic aluminum processing companies in 2016 have also been unevenly distributed. Among them, the profits of low-end deep-processing enterprises have dropped, and the profits of high-end companies have risen.

As China's investment in aluminum processing R&D is lacking, and the technological level is far from the advanced level in foreign countries, the development capabilities of high value-added products such as aviation aluminum, passenger car aluminum plates, and high-end aluminum foil are weak, product quality is unstable, and production costs are high. The homogeneity of timber products is serious, and some high-precision products still need to rely on imports.

According to the author's understanding, the profits of aluminum deep-processing enterprises generally declined in 2016, mainly due to the increase in costs and the reduction of processing fees. In terms of processing fees, due to the high profits of downstream aluminum companies in previous years, especially in 2009-2013, which attracted large amounts of funds to enter aluminum processing companies, domestic aluminum processing companies' capacity expanded rapidly from 2010 to 2015, resulting in overcapacity of processing enterprises.

At present, excess capacity is mainly concentrated in the low-end aluminum processing sector. Faced with overcapacity, such enterprises can only compete for the market by playing down the price war for processing fees. At the same time, since 2015, the domestic low-end deep processing market has also undergone a process of de-capacity. Fractures are eliminated, and industries are more concentrated in large-scale professional companies with lower costs and more abundant capital.

The author believes that the current low-end aluminum deep-processing industry is in a stable state and there is no room for further reduction of processing fees. In 2017, the profits of domestic processing enterprises are expected to maintain a stable level.

However, processing companies also have bright spots. In recent years, with the reduction in vehicle weight, the use of new energy vehicles, and the rapid development of aerospace, the demand for high-end aluminum processing products has increased significantly. However, due to the fact that domestic technological upgrading cannot keep up with the pace of the market, Can not achieve mass production, resulting in the current high-end aluminum processing products are still mainly dependent on imports, many domestic aluminum companies have aimed at this market gap and advance the advanced development of aluminum processing.

In addition, taking a broad view of the global market, people in the industry stated that China’s aluminum processing products often encounter “double counter” investigations and sanctions in many countries in the international market. Only high-tech aluminum products with high-tech content and high added value are more effective in the international market. Competitiveness.

As of now, some of the large companies that have developed high-end aluminum processing include:

Chinalco:

Ge Honglin said that Chinalco is committed to building "China Aluminum" brand and building high-end aluminum, high-end parts and products suppliers. In June 2016, Chinalco and Baosteel signed a cooperation framework agreement to jointly promote the formation of lightweight technology, production methods, industrial forms, and business models; in terms of construction, China Aluminum and China Construction have joint ventures of China Construction Aluminum New Materials Co., Ltd. Chinalco Aluminum Foil Company, which was funded by the company and Chinalco, was established to develop aluminum construction templates and high-end aluminum foils. In addition, all aluminum trains produced by Chinalco as an aluminum supplier have already carried transportation tasks, and all-aluminum commercial vehicles are also in full swing. Chinalco also cooperates with aircraft manufacturers to develop aluminum for large aircrafts, and cooperates with shipbuilding companies to develop Shipbuilding aluminum.

Nanshan Aluminum:

In 2016, Nanshan Aluminium Co., Ltd. focused on the development of new energy battery foils that are currently attracting more attention in the area of ​​aluminum foils. In terms of industrial materials, the company continued to strengthen its strategic cooperation with Qingdao Sifang and CIMC and increased its efforts in aerospace, high-speed rail, and power generation. Order mining, customer development and new product research on pipe and rod, container, conductor rail, semi-trailer, tanker, air cooling system, and subway screen door.

In particular, it is worth noting that the company has achieved significant results in the layout of the aviation sector. In October 2016, the company and Boeing signed a supply agreement for aerospace aluminum panels to enter the aerospace aluminum sector, laying a solid foundation for future expansion of aluminum sheet manufacturing business, expansion of aluminum extrusions and aluminum-titanium forging business. The company will compete directly with international aluminum giants such as Alcoa and seize the high-end market for deep processing of aluminum.

Mingtai Aluminum:

Mingtai Aluminum stated that the company intends to raise 1.22 billion yuan to upgrade and expand 125,000 tons/year of rolled plate production capacity and layout automotive sheet metal market. Considering that Henan Province has a large number of production bases for complete vehicles and parts and components, the company has steadily advanced its layout into deep processing and is expected to further increase the profitability of aluminum sheet.

Liaoning Zhongwang Group:

In recent years, Zhongwang has continued its commitment to high-end aluminum processing. Zhongyin Tianjin's aluminum-rolled steel project will be put into production. The first production line will mainly produce aluminum alloy plate, including ships, commercial vehicles, special vehicles and rail vehicles. The transportation plates and plates used in chemical containers, etc. Currently, these products mainly rely on imports in China, which will make up for the gap in the high-end aluminum processing aluminum plate market in China.

The author believes that with the help of national policies, the market potential of high-end aluminum materials is relatively large, and the overall profits of high-end aluminum processing enterprises will continue to rise in the future, but it should be an increase in volume, and unit profits and processing fees should be relatively stable.