Market evolution: Aluminium household articles (CN 7615) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU external trade in customs heading 7615 — covering table, kitchen and other household articles, sanitary ware, and parts thereof, of aluminium — over the period 2015–2025. The product group bundles two sub-headings: CN 761510 (household articles, pot scourers, and similar items) and CN 761520 (sanitary ware and parts thereof).

The decade under review saw a dramatic structural shift in the EU's trade position. The bloc moved from being a modest net exporter in value terms at the start of the period to a pronounced net importer by 2025, with the trade deficit tripling from €130 million to €471 million. Import volumes surged by over 60 % while export volumes contracted by nearly a third, reshaping the competitive landscape for European aluminium household goods producers. The following sections trace the key dynamics behind this transformation.

1. The EU's pivot from net exporter to net importer

1.1. Import growth far outpaces stagnant or declining exports

Over the 2015–2025 period, EU imports of CN 7615 grew in value from €543 million to €869 million (+59.9 %), while their volume rose from 98,262 tonnes to 158,927 tonnes (+61.7 %). Over the same span, EU exports declined in value from €413 million to €398 million (−3.6 %), with volumes falling sharply from 45,855 tonnes to 30,859 tonnes (−32.7 %).

The sharp divergence between the two flows — surging imports and shrinking exports — is the defining feature of this decade.

1.2. China's dominance of EU imports intensified

China is by far the largest supplier of CN 7615 to the EU. Chinese shipments grew from €446 million in 2015 to €760 million in 2025 (+70.4 %), peaking at €829 million in the interim. China's share of EU imports thus rose from roughly 82 % to approximately 87 % over the decade.

While other suppliers such as Türkiye (+53.1 %) and India (+23.1 %) also grew, their absolute volumes remain an order of magnitude below China. The import concentration index (HHI) rose from 6,786 to 7,703 (+13.5 %), confirming that the EU's supply base became more — not less — dependent on a single origin.

1.3. The trade balance deteriorated structurally

The net import reliance swung from −17.8 % in 2015 (meaning the EU was a net exporter) to +26.7 % in 2025 (a net importer). This 250-percentage-point shift reflects both the growth in import penetration and the erosion of EU export competitiveness. In parallel, trade intensity — the combined share of imports and exports relative to apparent consumption — more than doubled from 24.7 % to 59.2 %, indicating that the EU market became significantly more open and exposed to international competition over the decade.

2. Diverging price dynamics reveal a quality-tier split

2.1. EU exports shifted toward higher-value products

One of the most striking dynamics in the data is the divergence between import and export unit prices. While import prices remained essentially flat (€5,528/t in 2015 vs. €5,466/t in 2025, a decline of just 1.1 %), EU export prices rose by 43.2 % — from €9,003/t to €12,889/t.

By 2025, EU exports commanded a unit price 2.4 times higher than imports, up from 1.6 times in 2015. This widening gap suggests that EU producers increasingly concentrated on premium, higher-margin segments — such as designer cookware, specialised sanitary components, or branded products — while lower-cost, mass-market household aluminium articles were increasingly sourced from Asia.

2.2. Sanitary ware (761520) shows the starkest divergence

At the sub-heading level, sanitary ware (CN 761520) displays an extreme version of this dynamic. Import volumes in this sub-segment collapsed from 7,596 tonnes in 2015 to just 3,331 tonnes in 2025 (−56.1 %), yet export prices surged to €20,008/t by 2025 — nearly double their 2015 level of €10,424/t. This suggests EU manufacturers specialised in high-end aluminium sanitary components, where technical know-how and quality standards create significant entry barriers for foreign competitors.

By contrast, household articles (CN 761510) saw import volumes grow from 90,666 tonnes to 155,596 tonnes (+71.6 %), confirming this is the segment where foreign — predominantly Chinese — competition is fiercest. Export prices in 761510 also rose, from €8,902/t to €12,640/t (+42.0 %), but the volume decline was steeper: from 42,798 tonnes to 29,824 tonnes (−30.3 %).

2.3. Temporary price spikes reflect supply-chain disruptions

The year 2022 stands out in the data: import unit prices jumped to €6,939/t — the highest in the entire series — before correcting in subsequent years. This likely reflects the aluminium price spike driven by the energy crisis in Europe and sanctions-related supply disruptions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Export price shocks were also detected in 2022 for Saudi Arabia (+13.4 %) and Canada (+25.1 %), as well as in 2023 for Algeria (+59.7 %), confirming that the post-pandemic energy shock transmitted broadly through the aluminium value chain.

3. The intra-EU production landscape is consolidating around core producers

3.1. A small group of member states drives both imports and exports

The concentration of EU trade by reporting member state is pronounced. On the import side, seven member states account for the vast majority of external purchases:

France (+142.1 %), Poland (+133.8 %), and the Netherlands (+110.1 %) recorded the most dramatic import growth, suggesting that sourcing from third countries expanded rapidly in these markets — possibly reflecting both re-export activity (in the case of the Netherlands, a major logistics hub) and growing domestic consumption.

On the export side, France (€156 M) and Italy (€106 M) dominate, together accounting for roughly two-thirds of total EU exports. Notably, Denmark saw its exports collapse from €23.7 M to €8.5 M (−64.0 %), while Spain more than doubled from €5.7 M to €12.1 M (+111.5 %).

3.2. Specialisation data confirms Italy and France as EU production hubs

The revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) analysis for 2025 identifies Italy (RSCA = 0.51, RCA = 3.07) and France (RSCA = 0.27, RCA = 1.72) as the most specialised EU producers in CN 7615. Slovakia, Romania, and Spain also show moderate specialisation, while smaller member states such as Malta, Ireland, and Cyprus are heavily import-dependent with near-zero production specialisation.

3.3. EU production volumes grew, but value did not keep pace

According to PRODCOM production data, EU production of CN 7615 increased substantially in volume — from 674 million kg in 2015 to 2,125 million kg in 2025 (+215.3 %) — while production value declined from €1,648 million to €1,298 million (−21.2 %). This combination of rising volumes and falling values suggests a structural shift toward higher-volume, lower-value-added output, or alternatively a compositional shift within the sub-headings. It may also reflect intensified price competition from imports forcing domestic producers to compress margins. The export price increase noted earlier (Section 2) suggests that the remaining export-oriented production has moved up-market, while total production increasingly serves the domestic market at lower price points.

Conclusion

The EU market for aluminium household articles (CN 7615) underwent a profound structural transformation between 2015 and 2025. The bloc's trade balance swung from a modest deficit of €130 million to a substantial €471 million deficit, driven by a 62 % surge in import volumes alongside a 33 % decline in export volumes. China consolidated its position as the overwhelmingly dominant supplier, with its share of EU imports rising to approximately 87 % and the import concentration index increasing by 13.5 %.

However, the story is not one of simple displacement. EU export unit prices rose by 43 % over the decade — reaching nearly 2.4 times the price of imports by 2025 — indicating that European producers have successfully repositioned toward premium, higher-value segments. The sanitary ware sub-segment (CN 761520) exemplifies this, with export prices reaching €20,008/t even as import volumes in this niche collapsed. Italy and France remain the anchor production hubs, combining strong export specialisation with significant intra-EU production shares.

Looking ahead, the key vulnerability lies in the EU's heavy dependence on Chinese imports — both in volume and concentration terms — and the potential for supply-chain disruptions, as illustrated by the price shocks observed in 2022–2023. The rising trade intensity (from 25 % to 59 %) underscores that the EU's aluminium household goods sector is now deeply integrated into global — and particularly Asian — supply chains, making it more exposed to geopolitical and logistics risks than it was a decade ago.