2025 China Casting Exports: US Market Under Pressure

（ China Foundry Association, November 10, 2025 ）

According to the latest customs statistics, China's casting exports from January to September 2025 presented a divergent trend of "overall growth but decline to the US." The 20 HS codes classified as cast products accumulated exports of 4.763 million tons, up 4.4% year-on-year; total export value reached US$13.23 billion, up 3.7% year-on-year, achieving double growth in both volume and value. However, exports to the US market saw a notable decline, with export volume of 1.034 million tons and value of US$3.16 billion, down 11.9% and 5.4% respectively year-on-year.

Ferrous Castings Exports Performed Strongly

In the sector of 13 HS codes for ferrous castings, export growth was particularly significant. Total exports from January to September reached 1.662 million tons, up 9.4% year-on-year, with export value of US$2.54 billion (see Table 2). Performance varied by product category: Industrial non-malleable cast iron articles ( HS code 73251010 ) reached 114,000 tons, up 30.4% year-on-year; Grinding balls and similar articles of malleable cast iron or steel (HS code 73259100) exported 217,000 tons, up 29.1% year-on-year; Non-industrial unclassified malleable cast iron and steel articles ( HS code 73259990 ) exported 54,000 tons, with a remarkable increase of 38.0% year-on-year. However, some products such as cast iron table and kitchenware experienced declines ( see Table 1 for details ).

Table 1: Export Details of 13 HS Codes for Ferrous Castings ( Jan-Sep 2025 )

The US market likewise showed contraction, with ferrous castings exports of 152,000 tons, down 6.9% year-on-year, and export value of US$370 million, down 11.5% (see Table 3).

Table 3: US Exports of Ferrous Castings ( Jan-Sep 2025 )

Automotive Parts Exports Slightly Declined

Five HS codes covering automotive brake components and diesel engine parts exported a total of 2.148 million tons, down 1.1% year-on-year, with export value of US$6.23 billion, up 2.7% year-on-year (see Table 7).    

Table 7: YoY Export Comparison of Automotive Parts (Jan-Sep 2025)

Among these, brake components and parts for tractors (HS code 87083091) exported 204,000 tons, up 15.2% year-on-year, becoming the main growth driver; while brake parts for heavy-duty diesel trucks (HS code 87083095) and high-power diesel engine parts (HS code 84099991) declined by 3.7% and 4.5% respectively (see Table 6).    

Table 6: Export Details of 5 HS Codes for Automotive Parts ( Jan-Sep 2025 )

This category showed high dependence on the US market but with significant decline: exports to the US reached 655,000 tons, down 17.8% year-on-year, and export value of US$1.50 billion, down 12.7% ( see Table 8 ).  

Table 8: US Exports of Automotive Parts ( Jan-Sep 2025 )

September Saw Month-on-Month Decline

In September alone, the 20 HS code castings exported 527,000 tons, up 5.2% year-on-year but down 5.0% month-on-month; export value reached US$1.45 billion, up 3.0% year-on-year but down 6.3% month-on-month. Exports to the US were 101,000 tons, down 20.6% year-on-year and 9.4% month-on-month; export value was US$310 million, down 12.5% year-on-year and 10.4% month-on-month, with the decline expanding compared to the first three quarters.

Ferrous castings in September exported 197,000 tons, up 21.3% year-on-year but down 1.1% month-on-month; US exports were 16,000 tons, down 19.8% year-on-year and 4.1% month-on-month ( see Tables 4 and 5 ).

Table 4: YoY and MoM Export Comparison of Ferrous Castings (September 2025)

Table 5: US Exports of Ferrous Castings (September 2025)

Automotive parts exported 223,000 tons in September, down 7.4% year-on-year and 5.3% month-on-month; US exports were 64,000 tons, down 26.2% year-on-year and 6.8% month-on-month (see Tables 9 and 10). 

Table 9: YoY and MoM Export Comparison of Automotive Parts ( September 2025 ) 

Table 10: US Exports of Automotive Parts ( September 2025 )

Special Note from the Association

The China Foundry Association pointed out that customs statistics on cast products do not cover all casting exports. A considerable portion of castings are imported and exported as machined components or together with complete machines, especially non-ferrous castings. Therefore, the actual total casting export volume is higher than the statistics from the 20 designated HS codes, which mainly reflect trade in ferrous castings and articles clearly classifiable as cast products.

If you are interested in the article content and statistics, please feel free to contact us for further discussion.

(Data source: Compiled by China Foundry Association based on General Administration of Customs data)

More Links:

The 7th Shandong International Foundry Industry Exhibition ( 2025 )

In-depth Analysis of Customs Data of China's Foundry Industry in 2024

China's Automotive Industry in Shandong