Why Is There Such A Big Difference in The Price of Coloured Aluminium in China?

Why the offer of coloured aluminium in China varies so much, and some coloured aluminium offers are even lower than the price of aluminium ingots?

First, raw material quality and cost differentiation

-The game of aluminium ingot purity and recycled aluminium

Regular enterprises usually use primary aluminium ingots with purity above 99.7%, and the cost is directly linked to the international aluminium price (the average price of aluminium ingot in January-May 2025 is about RMB 20125/ton). Some manufacturers use recycled aluminium with impurities exceeding the standard, and the cost of raw materials can be as low as 60%-70% of virgin aluminium. For example, the wall thickness of low-quality coloured aluminium profiles is only 0.6-0.8 mm (national standard ≥1.2 mm), reducing the material used per unit weight by more than 30%, which directly lowers the offer price.

-The two-way impact of recycled aluminium policy

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's ‘Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of the Aluminium Industry (2025-2027)’ requires that the production of recycled aluminium reach 15 million tonnes in 2027, which promotes the adoption of recycled aluminium by some enterprises to reduce costs. However, the cost of compliant recycled aluminium is still higher than that of poor-quality recycled aluminium, as it requires strict sorting and refining. Small workshops use scrap aluminium directly through simple sorting, and the cost can be compressed to 50% of regular recycled aluminium.

Second, the production process and environmental protection input differences

-Surface treatment technology gap

Coloured aluminium price and surface treatment process depth binding: ordinary baking paint cost about 50 yuan / ㎡, powder coating 200 yuan / ㎡, fluorocarbon baking paint up to 400 yuan / ㎡. Small workshops often use low-quality paints in the name of ‘imitation fluorocarbon’, and the weather resistance is less than 3 years (regular fluorocarbon paint warranty of 15 years), and the cost can be reduced by 70%.

-Cost scissors difference of environmental compliance

Formal enterprises need to invest in waste gas treatment equipment (e.g. RTO incinerator) and waste water recycling system, and the environmental cost accounts for 10-15% of the total cost. Small factories can directly save 20%-30% of the cost by stealing emissions or simplifying the process (e.g., omitting the pre-treatment process). For example, a small factory to omit the chroming process, the cost of a single square metre reduced by 5 yuan, but the product can only pass the salt spray test 24 hours (the national standard requires 480 hours).

Third, market competition and overcapacity

-Price war triggered by homogeneous competition

China's coloured aluminium production capacity of more than 20 million tons / year, far more than 15 million tons of market demand. In order to get rid of inventory, enterprises often offer price at ‘ingot price + 100 RMB/ton’, even lower than the cost. For example, in April 2025, when the ingot price fell to RMB 19949/tonne, some manufacturers sold their stocks at RMB 19,800/tonne.

-Polarisation of regional markets

Demand is strong in developed eastern regions (e.g., Yangtze River Delta), but competition is fierce and price transparency is high, while demand is insufficient in central and western regions, and vendors can offer prices up to 10-15% below the ingot price in order to capture share. For example, the price of 0.8mm colour aluminium sheet produced by a Sichuan manufacturer is RMB 18/kg, while the price of aluminium ingot is RMB 20.1/kg in the same period.

Fourth, the policy and industry ecological impact

-The double effect of environmental protection policy

New environmental protection standards (such as VOCs emission limits) force regular enterprises to upgrade their equipment and increase costs by 15-20%. And small workshops through ‘guerrilla warfare’ (night production, off-site transfer) to avoid regulation, the formation of ‘compliant enterprises more expensive, non-compliant companies sell cheaper’ deformed ecology.

-Transmission mechanism of international trade

2025 The increase in LME aluminium prices drove up the cost of imported ingots, but the release of domestic recycled aluminium production capacity partially offset the raw material pressure. However, small workshops use imported aluminium scrap (tariff concessions) to further depress the cost of raw materials, forming a price depression.

Fifth， Hidden Costs of Quality and Service

-Cutting corners on performance parameters

The key indicators of low-quality coloured aluminium generally shrink: tensile strength is lower than 120MPa (national standard ≥ 160MPa), paint adhesion is only 1 level (national standard ≥ 0 level), impact resistance ≤ 50kg・cm (national standard ≥ 100kg・cm). These defects are not easy to notice in the short term, but will lead to service life shortened by more than 50%.

-Difference in after-sales system

Famous brands provide 5-10 years warranty, including colour difference replacement, corrosion compensation and other terms; while small workshops to ‘factory non-returnable’ to avoid responsibility. For example, a project using low-priced colour aluminium panels 3 years after the discolouration of a large area, the replacement cost is three times the original purchase price.

Sixth, typical cases and data to prove

Cost Comparison: A regular enterprise produces 1.0mm fluorocarbon coloured aluminium panels, the raw material cost is RMB 18/kg, processing cost is RMB 8/kg, total cost is RMB 26/kg; while a small workshop uses 0.8mm recycled aluminium + ordinary baking varnish, the total cost is only RMB 15/kg, and the offer price can be as low as RMB 16/kg (lower than the price of aluminium ingot of the same period, which is RMB 20.1/kg).

Market disorder: A building materials market research in 2025 showed that only 37% of the products labelled as ‘fluorocarbon coloured aluminium’ complied with the national standard, and the rest were powder coating or ordinary baking varnish.

Suggestions for purchasing

Verification of qualification: ISO 9001 certification, SGS test report (focusing on salt spray test and adhesion).

Physical inspection:

Test the substrate with a magnet (pure aluminium does not absorb magnetism, recycled aluminium containing iron impurities will be adsorbed);

Wipe the paint film with MEK solvent (50 times without bottoming out is qualified).

Contract terms: specify the warranty period, the range of colour difference (ΔE≤1.5), and the conditions for return and exchange.

The price chaos in the coloured aluminium market is essentially a game of quality and cost. Consumers need to be wary of the ‘aluminium ingot price below’ offer, these products often in raw materials, technology, environmental protection and other aspects of major defects, long-term use will pay a higher price. Select high-quality factories although the initial cost is higher, but can ensure the economy and safety of the whole life cycle.

Comparison between low-priced, low-quality products and high-quality products