In April 2026, China's electrolytic aluminum capacity maintained high operation. As of late April, installed capacity stood at 45.07 million tons per annum, while operating capacity hit 44.48 million tons per annum, rising by 50,000 tons per annum month on month. Overall capacity remained stable with a slight uptick in active production capacity.
Phase II of Zha Aluminum Project ran smoothly with sound capacity ramp-up progress; 90% of equipment installation has been finished, and 50 electrolytic cells have been put into stable operation. Full commissioning is scheduled for June, lifting the enterprise's total electrolytic aluminum capacity to 1.61 million tons after reaching design output. On April 13, the energy-saving, emission-reduction upgrading project of Guangyuan Hongchangsheng Aluminum is designed with an annual capacity of 115,000 tons and configured with 106 sets of 400kA electrolytic cells; construction is expected to kick off in June 2026.
China's domestic electrolytic aluminum capacity is close to the upper limit, with the industrial operating rate staying above 98%. Further output release and capacity expansion have nearly hit the ceiling, and the whole industry is shifting focus to quality improvement and efficiency promotion. After data revision, China's April output was 3.678 million tons; May output is forecast at 3.806 million tons, up 1.5% year on year, equating to an average daily output of around 122,800 tons.
Figure 1 Annualized Electrolytic Aluminum Output of China
Source: Antaike
On the international front, mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East in April triggered frequent output cuts and plant suspensions among local aluminum smelters. Capacity resumptions in other global regions failed to offset sharp capacity shrinkage in the Middle East, dragging overall overseas operating capacity down and tightening global electrolytic aluminum supply.
Production Restarts
On April 23, the second electrolytic cell line at Century Aluminum's Norðurál Smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland was successfully powered on, covering two-thirds of the plant's total capacity (213,000 tons/annum) and set to realize full capacity before July; the smelter's full rated capacity is 320,000 tons per annum. Separately, the company commenced restart of one production line at its Mt.Holly Smelter, which is poised to reach full capacity of 50,000 tons/annum in June. Alcoa is assessing the restart of the fourth production line at its Warrick Smelter, which will add roughly 50,000 tons of annual capacity after restart.
Production Curtailments
On April 3, Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) fully shut down its Abu Dhabi smelter with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons, and full production restoration will take as long as 12 months. On April 8, Arak Aluminum, Iran's second-largest aluminum smelter with annual capacity of 175,000 tons, suspended operation due to airstrikes.
Per statistics from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), overseas electrolytic aluminum output totaled 2.507 million tons in March 2026, down 0.04% year on year and 1.08% month on month, with average daily output at 81,000 tons.
Figure 2 IAI Overseas Average Daily Electrolytic Aluminum Output
Source: International Aluminium Institute (IAI)