Fluctuations in Magnesium Alloy Prices

In recent years, the development of magnesium alloy building templates has been continuously promoted by relevant enterprises. Compared with aluminum alloy templates, magnesium alloy templates have the advantages of long service life, recyclability, lighter weight, and stronger resistance to alkali corrosion. Previously, due to the higher price of magnesium than aluminum, magnesium alloy templates had some cost disadvantages. However, as a magnesium aluminum alloy die casting supplier, we noticed that with the decline in magnesium prices, the cost of magnesium alloy is now lower than that of aluminum alloy, and the work of small-scale replacement of aluminum alloy templates by magnesium alloy templates will gradually start.

According to statistics, the China's scale of aluminum alloy formwork in 2018 will reach 544,000 tons, and the overall output of aluminum alloy formwork will reach 1.357 million tons. As a magnesium alloy manufacturer, we believe that the market scale is extremely considerable. Once the penetration rate of magnesium alloy templates in the formwork field increases, the demand for magnesium alloy will be greatly increased.

Magnesium Alloy Prices

The 3C field has the potential to stabilize and rebound magnesium demand. The 3C field is another important application field for magnesium alloys and aluminum-magnesium alloys. They are usually used for high-end ultra-thin or small-sized notebook casings. For example, MacBook casings are made of aluminum-magnesium alloy material, with aluminum accounting for 94% and magnesium accounting for 5%.

The silver-white Al-Mg alloy casing makes the product more luxurious, attractive, and easy to color. Through surface treatment processes, it can be personalized into a powder blue color, adding a lot of color to laptops. This material is unmatched by engineering plastics and carbon fiber. Therefore, the Al-Mg alloy has become the preferred shell material for portable laptops. Most laptop manufacturers use Al-Mg alloy shell technology, while some high-end lightweight laptops use Mg-Al alloy shell technology.

As laptops become increasingly popular, domestic laptop shipments peaked in 2012 and then began to decline. Since 2016, domestic laptop shipments have resumed positive growth, and according to statistics, global PC shipments achieved the first positive growth in nine years in 2019. The willingness of consumers to upgrade computers may decline due to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, which will cause a short-term drag on magnesium demand. However, after the overall economic recovery in 2021, we expect the demand for magnesium in the 3C market to gradually stabilize and rebound.

After the global epidemic stabilizes, overseas automotive factories resume work, and the price of magnesium is expected to start a long-term upward trend. The amount of magnesium used in automobiles and bicycles continues to increase. In recent years, the demand for magnesium has steadily increased.

As more and more production bases in industries such as automobiles and consumer electronics are transferred to China and local component suppliers are cultivated, the development of high-end magnesium alloy products including magnesium alloy powder in China's magnesium alloy industry is continuously advancing, and the demand for magnesium alloy market continues to grow. The price of magnesium alloy will also fluctuate upwards. At the same time, with the gradual popularization of magnesium alloy structural parts such as steering wheel brackets and dashboard brackets in the automotive market in recent years, the magnesium consumption of our country's automobiles and bicycles has also increased steadily from 1.5 kg in 2015 to 4.8 kg (estimated) in 2019. According to the target proposed in the "Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap," the magnesium consumption of bicycles will reach 45 kg by 2030, and the future magnesium alloy market is vast. According to data from the Industrial Information Network, China's magnesium alloy apparent demand reached 221,500 tons in 2019, of which the magnesium alloy consumption in the automotive field was 123,000 tons, accounting for 55.5%.