----Interview with Guoxing Lou
General Manager
Anhui Jinhong Metal Products Co., Ltd.
Anhui Jinhong Metal Products Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jinfei Holding Group. Established in 2023, the company mainly produces and sells die-casting aluminum alloy ingots such as ADC12, SI9CU3, and A380, as well as 6-series aluminum bars. The designed annual capacity for aluminum alloy ingots is 200,000 tons. At present, Phase I, with a capacity of 100,000 tons, has been fully commissioned, including 60,000 tons of aluminum alloy ingot and 40,000 tons of aluminum billet.
Asian Metal: First of all, thank you, Mr. Lou, for accepting this interview. Could you briefly introduce your company?
Mr. Lou: Jinfei Holding Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Wucheng District, Jinhua City. Since 2000, the company has been listed as a key enterprise supported by the Jinhua municipal government. Its traditional core businesses include aluminum alloy wheels, aluminum alloy materials, and intelligent equipment manufacturing. In line with industrial upgrading, the group has, since 2020, expanded into aluminum extrusion profiles and aerospace component manufacturing. Currently, the group has established production bases and sales networks in Jinhua, Yunnan, Ningxia, Jiangxi, Anhui, India, the United States, and Thailand. Established in 2023, Anhui Jinhong Metal Products Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jinfei Holding Group. The company mainly produces and sells die-casting aluminum alloy ingots such as ADC12, SI9CU3, and A380, as well as 6-series aluminum bars.
Asian Metal: Demand for secondary aluminum ingot remained strong in the fourth quarter of last year. What do you think were the main drivers behind this robust demand?
Mr. Lou: First, the fourth quarter is traditionally the peak consumption season for the die-casting industry, as sectors such as automobiles, motorcycles, home appliances, and power tools ramp up production and inventory. Second, tight supply of scrap aluminum and its continuously rising prices prompted downstream die-casting enterprises to procure secondary aluminum alloy ingot in advance to hedge against further cost increases. Lastly, with the new energy vehicle purchase tax set to rise from full exemption to 50% starting January 1, 2026, some automakers launched promotional campaigns in the fourth quarter, which further boosted secondary aluminum alloy ingot consumption.
Asian Metal: How were your company’s orders in the fourth quarter, and which sectors drove demand?
Mr. Lou: Our order book was full in the fourth quarter. However, due to tight scrap aluminum supply, production lagged behind sales. Without raw material constraints, we could have taken orders of around 5,000 tons per month, but actual output was limited to approximately 3,000 tons. At present, we are selectively turning down lower-margin orders. Our downstream customers are mainly in the automotive and motorcycle parts sectors, as well as power tools, with automotive and motorcycle components accounting for about 80%.
Asian Metal: Do you expect demand in the first half of this year to remain as strong as in the fourth quarter? What factors will influence demand?
Mr. Lou: In my view, demand in the first quarter is unlikely to sustain the strength seen in the fourth quarter, and will instead show a pattern of “weak at the beginning and stabilizing later.” Following the implementation of a 50% purchase tax on new energy vehicles from January 1, 2026, and the demand pull-forward driven by year-end promotions, automotive demand is expected to decline significantly in January. February will be affected by the Chinese New Year holiday, during which most manufacturing activities pause, and downstream die-casting plants typically resume operations only after the Lantern Festival. In March, most enterprises will still be ramping up production after the holiday, with operating rates remaining below normal levels. In addition, scrap collection is suspended during the holiday period, further tightening raw material supply and slowing production. Overall, first-quarter sales are expected to decline by around 50% compared with the fourth quarter. In the second quarter, overall demand for secondary aluminum alloy ingot is expected to improve compared with the first quarter, particularly in April. In addition, rising oil prices driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may support new energy vehicle sales, thereby boosting demand for secondary aluminum alloy ingot.
Asian Metal: Scrap aluminum supply has also been tight in previous years, but there was usually at least one quarter of relatively adequate supply. Why was supply tight throughout almost the entire year of 2025?
Mr. Lou: This needs to be analyzed from both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, imported scrap aluminum prices were higher than domestic prices for most of 2025, resulting in reduced import volumes. Meanwhile, stricter environmental regulations in China limited the growth of domestic scrap dismantling. On the demand side, new capacity for secondary aluminum alloy ingot increased by around 5%–10% in 2025, driving continuous demand growth. However, supply did not increase correspondingly, which further exacerbated the shortage.
Asian Metal: How does your company address the shortage of scrap aluminum supply?
Mr. Lou: First, we are expanding our procurement channels. In addition to domestic sourcing, we are also procuring scrap aluminum from overseas. By leveraging our production base in Thailand, we process imported scrap to supplement domestic shortages. The Thailand facility is equipped with a pre-treatment center, including shredding, eddy current separation, and optical sorting lines, enabling us to process various types of imported scrap to meet Chinese customs requirements. Second, we are enhancing our sorting and processing capabilities to upgrade substandard scrap into material that meets production standards, thereby effectively increasing usable supply.
Asian Metal: Will the scrap aluminum shortage ease in the first half of this year, or will it become more severe?
Mr. Lou: In the first quarter, the supply-demand imbalance will become more pronounced, showing a pattern of “tightening before the holiday, gradual recovery after, but remaining overall tight.” Most scrap suppliers suspend operations for about a month during the Chinese New Year, while secondary aluminum alloy ingot producers tend to stockpile in January, making the shortage most acute in January and February. Supply may improve slightly in March as operations resume, but the gap will be difficult to close. In the second quarter, domestic scrap supply is expected to return to normal levels but is unlikely to increase significantly. Meanwhile, overseas scrap supply remains tight, and prices are consistently higher than domestic levels, limiting imports. Therefore, the overall shortage of scrap aluminum is unlikely to ease significantly in the first half of the year.
Asian Metal: What are your company’s future development priorities? Are there any new project plans?
Mr. Lou: Our future development will focus on two core areas: industrial chain extension and intelligent manufacturing. On the one hand, we aim to fully utilize molten aluminum resources and expand into downstream, higher value-added products, while strengthening integration with downstream customers through direct molten aluminum supply. On the other hand, we will promote the comprehensive transformation of traditional production lines toward automation and digitalization, ultimately achieving both cost reduction and low-carbon development. At present, there are no plans to establish die-casting production lines at our Anhui plant.
