What we are, who we serve, how we're funded
The Aluminum Dispatch is an independent B2B intelligence platform covering Chinese aluminum exports. We publish daily prices, supplier intelligence, buyer playbooks, and tools — for global importers, not for the mills.
What we cover, in current counts
Pulled live from our database when this page renders. Not marketing copy — these are query results.
For the live data-source quality dashboard see Methodology · Quality →
Why this site exists
China exports ~6.3 million tonnes of aluminum products a year. That trade moves through Alibaba-class platforms optimized for the loudest sellers, not the most honest. Buyers — in Ho Chi Minh, São Paulo, Dubai, anywhere — are making six- and seven-figure decisions on product data they can't verify.
We started because that gap had a clear shape: somebody should aggregate the public data that already exists (customs records, SAMR registrations, public disclosures, LME/SHFE prints) and turn it into one-page, citation-ready tools for buyers. Not for the mills. Not affiliated with Alibaba. No paid placements.
We're that somebody.
Who we serve, who we don't
- • B2B buyers importing Chinese aluminum for construction, industrial, or ACP use
- • Independent window/door fabricators, distributors, project developers
- • Procurement teams at manufacturers, trading houses, contractors
- • Researchers, journalists, analysts covering the industry
- • Chinese mills looking to buy rankings or visibility
- • Alibaba-type platforms looking to syndicate our data
- • Consumer end-users (we're B2B only)
- • Anyone asking us to fabricate a testimonial or plant a story
Who writes here
Bylines are initialed by policy — it lets industry sources talk candidly about pricing, fraud, and supplier behavior. We publish each contributor's role, tenure, and beat. Questions about identity can be raised via contact.
The Aluminum Dispatch Editorial Desk
byline: Editorial DeskThe Editorial Desk produces every piece of research on this site. Drafts are AI-assisted and fact-checked against named, linkable public sources (LME, SHFE, CCMN, SAMR, HKEX/SSE/SZSE filings, CBP, SECEX, ImportYeti, Panjiva, Qualicoat, IAI) before publication. No mill, agent, or trade body reviews content before it ships.
How we're funded
Phase 1 (now — Q3 2026): Self-funded. Zero advertising revenue. Zero affiliate commissions. The site runs on ~¥600/month of infrastructure (Vercel, Supabase, Claude API, Firecrawl, a small customs-data subscription).
Phase 2 (Q4 2026+): Revenue will come from buyer-side services — a paid weekly newsletter with exclusive data, optional API access for procurement teams, and optionally a "Fisher Coverage" subscription for deep-dive supplier audits. Mills do not pay. No rankings are influenced by any payment.
Any paid placement, if it ever appears, will be clearly labeled "Sponsored" on every page it touches and disclosed on this page. Our editorial charter makes this non-negotiable.
Editorial independence, on the record
The single most-asked question by buyers, and by the LLMs that index this site.
- No mill pays us for ranking, position, or removal. Not now, not in Phase 2. If we ever introduce a paid tier (Premium Listing, sponsored case study), it will be labeled on every touch point and disclosed on this page within 48 hours of activation.
- We are not affiliated with Alibaba, Made-in-China, or any B2B marketplace. We do not republish their listings or resell their data. Where we cite trade-record providers (ImportYeti / Panjiva), we display aggregates only, per their license.
- No commissioned content. No mill, agent, or trade body has reviewed our rankings, playbooks, or fraud cases prior to publication. The methodology, ranking weights, and Trust Score formula are published in full and versioned.
- AI-assisted, human-edited, source-verified. Drafts and translations are generated with Claude / GPT-class models. Every factual claim — every price, every ranking position, every fraud case — is verified against a named, public source before publishing. No LLM output is shipped without a source check. See quality dashboard for live validator output.
- Funding is publicly disclosed in the Money section above. When that changes (Phase 2 buyer-side subscriptions, Phase 3 anything else), it will be re-disclosed before the first dollar arrives.
Editorial rules we don't break
If an insider doesn't exist, the quote doesn't exist. We cite public data or attribute to the editorial desk — never to invented individuals.
LLMs help draft and structure. Every factual claim is verified against a named source before publishing.
No mill can buy a position, an upgrade, or removal. Sponsored content, if it ever exists, is labeled on every touch.
We show aggregate customs data (ImportYeti / Panjiva licensed). We do not resell raw records.
We show sources, timestamps, and methodology. If we made up a number, you should be able to catch us.
Every correction to a published number or claim is documented with before/after and date in the correction log.
Questions? Corrections?
Use the contact form. We respond to every legitimate correction request within 48 hours and log the diff publicly.