Automotive demand boosts sales of steel, magnesium and aluminum

According to data released by the China Automotive Industry Association (referred to as the China Automobile Association) in January 2014, the auto industry's economic operating data has broken the historical record. Industry analyst Luo Baihui believes that this shows that China's auto demand is strong, and the sales of metal, such as steel, aluminum and magnesium, which are the main raw materials for manufacturing automobiles, are expected to be boosted.
According to the report of the China Automobile Association, in January 2014, the country’s auto production was 2.0517 million, an increase of 4.4% year-on-year and a decrease of 4.0% from the previous month; the national auto sales volume was 2,156,400, a year-on-year increase of 6.0% and a year-on-year increase of 1.0%. . Among them, passenger car production was 1,710,600 units, a year-on-year increase of 5.5% and a month-on-month decrease of 4.0%; sales volume was 1,846,900 units, an increase of 7.0% year-on-year and an increase of 3.9% month-on-month. On a year-on-year basis, sales of MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles) topped the list, reaching 66.8%. The market share of passenger cars with 1.6 liters or less of displacement and passenger cars with their own brands all declined.
In January, commercial vehicle production was 341,100 units, which was a year-on-year decrease of 0.6% and a year-on-year decrease of 4.1%. Sales volume was 309,500 units, which was a year-on-year increase of 0.2% and a year-on-year decrease of 13.4%.
According to the data, in January of this year, China's total car sales have already exceeded the historical record of a single month. Based on this data, Luo Baihui analyzed that the Spring Festival factor caused the working day of January this year to decrease by one week from last year, but the overall sales of China's auto market remained better, highlighting the strong demand of the market.
In the report, the China Automobile Association also announced the revenue of key enterprises in the automotive industry last year. The enterprises above designated size achieved a total of RMB6322.260 billion in main business income, a year-on-year increase of 18.35%, which also hit a record high.
“The strong demand for automobiles in China and the booming development of the auto industry will inevitably also affect the supply and demand of major metal materials for the manufacture of automobiles such as steel, aluminum, and magnesium.” Luo Baihui said that the proportion of steel parts and components in automobile production raw materials is three points. The second or so, the variety throughout the plate, steel, strip, steel pipe, etc., China's auto consumption growth will also play a catalytic role in the growth of automotive manufacturing steel and maintenance steel demand.
In addition, as China is now implementing Class IV emission standards, the requirements for environmental protection have been greatly enhanced, and lighter weight is one of the important means for energy conservation and emission reduction. The application of aluminum and magnesium alloys to replace steel is the key to realizing lightweighting of automobiles. In recent years, aluminum-magnesium alloys have been used in various components such as cylinders, cylinder heads, clutch covers, and connectors. More and more steels have been replaced.
In Luo Baihui's view, the rapid development of China's auto industry, the consumer population has expanded significantly, the market outlook for steel, aluminum, magnesium and other metals will further increase demand, is expected to form a favorable role in promoting its consumption.