While China's domestic aluminum extrusion producers pinned high hopes on the traditional September-October peak season, the market performance fell short of expectations. Order books improved slightly in October, yet failed to reverse the sector's overall weakness. Operating on a build-to-order basis, most companies kept raw material restocking strictly need-based. Large producers maintained a safe level of finished goods inventory to protect market share and sustain operations, while exploring new growth opportunities.
Data from a Mysteel survey of 150 sample enterprises shows that output of architectural and industrial aluminum extrusions both trended gradually lower across the first three quarters. Overcapacity in architectural extrusions, coupled with intensifying product homogeneity, has driven profit margins to thin levels amid market competition.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, national floor space under construction reached 5.65 billion square meters in the first nine months of 2026, down 12.8%year on year. Floor space of new starts came in at 340.31 million square meters, a decline of 24.9% year on year, while completed floor space stood at 232.71 million square meters, down 25.1% year on year.
Sluggish consumption of traditional architectural extrusions continued to weigh on the sector. Downstream window and door fabricators were generally short of orders, adopted a cautious purchasing stance and restocked strictly as needed. Large-scale forward buying has largely disappeared. Consumption is gradually shifting toward the industrial extrusion segment.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that production of new energy vehicles totaled 12.48 million units in the first three quarters, up 11% year on year, with sales reaching 12.47 million units, also an 11.1% increase. New energy vehicles are emerging as a core growth engine for industrial extrusion demand.
Following typical industry patterns, construction activity usually enters a year-end rush in the fourth quarter. The run-up to the Lunar New Year also marks a golden window for housing renovations. Together with the traditional peak season for vehicle purchases, these factors are expected to lift industrial extrusion demand. Overall aluminum extrusion orders are forecast to rise moderately in the fourth quarter.
Written by Regina WANG
wangjiaqie@mysteel.com
