JINAN, China, Nov. 12, 2026 — Demand for aluminized steel coil (aluminium-coated steel coil) remains firm in mid-November 2026, with mills writing first-quarter 2027 order books against four-year-high aluminium costs and a heavier compliance load that is reshaping how buyers in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia place tonnage, exporters and trade data show.
Export Volumes Point to Steady Offtake
China exported 656,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in September 2026, up 4.8% month on month and 25.9% year on year, with cumulative January–September volumes 17.8% higher than a year earlier, according to customs data released in mid-October. Coated flat products followed the same direction, with aluminized and aluminium-zinc coils taking the strongest inquiry flow from roofing, appliance and exhaust customers as the year-end shipping window narrows.
Aluminium Cost Is Now the Swing Factor
The coating, not the substrate, is what has moved most this year; LME aluminium traded at roughly 3,675–3,769/t in June 2026, four-year highs, and has stayed historically elevated since, and with coatings applied at 60–200g/m², every $100/t move in aluminium feeds straight into conversion cost.
The substrate has been the stable part of the stack: Mysteel assessed China’s HRC export price at $483/t FOB in mid-August 2026, down just $2/t from late July, so export quotes for aluminized coil therefore stay wide, at $560–573/t on public B2B platforms — a spread set by coating weight, substrate grade and destination rather than mill sentiment.
What Buyers Are Specifying
Enquiries confirmed this month for first-quarter 2027 shipment show three consistent requirements:
Coating type.
●Type 1 (pure aluminium) for general corrosion service; Type 2 (aluminium-silicon, 5–11% Si) where heat resistance matters — exhaust systems, mufflers, heat exchangers, oven and roaster liners.
Standards.
●ASTM A463, JIS G3314 and EN 10154 remain the reference specifications, with mill test certificates and coating-mass verification requested as standard.
Traceability.
●Increasingly, buyers ask for heat-number traceability from substrate to finished coil, particularly where the coil is destined for automotive or appliance programmes.
Typical supply covers thickness of 0.2–2.0 mm, widths of 600–1,250 mm, coil weights of 3–10 t, and surface finishes from regular spangle to skin-passed.
Policy Is Redirecting the Flow
Two border changes have reshaped this year’s order books. The EU’s CBAM entered its definitive regime on Jan. 1, 2026, so importers of covered steel goods need defensible embedded-emissions data rather than default values. Separately, the US restructured Section 232 tariffs on April 2, 2026: goods made entirely or almost entirely of non-US steel or aluminium continue to face a 50% rate, while certain derivative products were reduced to 25%.
The result is a broader destination mix: Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America account for a growing share of books, while European buyers now want emissions documentation alongside mechanical and coating reports.
Outlook
With aluminium premiums still elevated, CBAM data adding lead time and the pre-holiday shipping window opening in December, mills expect prices to stay cost-driven rather than demand-driven through the first quarter of 2027. Buyers locking tonnage now are prioritising confirmed coating weight and documented emissions data over headline price.
Shandong Ruixiang Steel Group Co., Ltd. supplies hot-dip aluminized steel coil, aluminium-zinc coated coil and related flat products for roofing, appliance and automotive applications. For specifications and current quotations, contact the export team.
Post time: Nov-12-2026