Why this index exists
Every hardware founder who receives a quote from China faces the same problem: there is no reference price. You cannot tell whether $34,000 for a tool is fair, whether a 3% material increase is real, or whether "P20 steel" means the same thing in two different quotes.
Published market data on Chinese manufacturing is almost always one of three things: a broker's price list, a survey of self-reported figures, or an estimate derived from commodity indices. None of them is what a factory actually pays.
This index is the fourth thing. These are our own procurement records — the prices SunOn Manufacturer Group pays for steel, metal and machine time, published once a quarter so that founders have something to check a quote against.
Current edition
Current · Q3 2026
SunOn Manufacturing Cost Index Q3 2026
Domestic mold steel down as much as 15%. Aluminum ADC12 up 3%. The zinc–aluminum price gap has nearly closed. Domestic P20 now costs under one-sixth of imported ASSAB S136.
Read the full Q3 index →Next · Q4 2026
Publishing October 2026
Fresh procurement numbers for mold steel, machine rates and casting metal, plus the quarter-over-quarter movement and what it means for anyone being quoted right now.
Get it by email when it publishes →Q3 2026 headline numbers
Full context, interpretation and the question to ask your supplier are in the Q3 edition. The figures themselves:
Mold steel (per kg)
| Grade | Q3 2026 | vs Q2 | USD equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| P20, domestic | ¥5.9/kg | ↓ ~15% | ~$0.82/kg |
| 718H, domestic | ¥14–18/kg | ↓ ~8% | ~$1.95–2.50/kg |
| S136, domestic | ¥25–32/kg | ↓ ~5% | ~$3.50–4.45/kg |
| ASSAB 718 (imported) | ¥35–45/kg | flat | ~$4.85–6.25/kg |
| ASSAB S136 (imported) | ¥60–80/kg | flat | ~$8.35–11.10/kg |
Injection molding machine rates
| Press size | Q3 2026 | USD equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| ≤160T | ¥80–120/hour | ~$11–17/hr |
| 160–400T | ¥120–300/hour | ~$17–42/hr |
| >400T | ¥300–500+/hour | ~$42–69+/hr |
Die casting metal (per ton)
| Material | Q3 2026 | vs Q2 | USD equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum ADC12 ingot | ¥23,900–24,100/ton | ↑ ~3% | ~$3,320–3,350/ton |
| Zinc Zamak 3 ingot | ¥24,905–25,005/ton | ↓ ~1% | ~$3,460–3,470/ton |
| Zamak 3 processing fee | ¥600–700/ton | flat | ~$83–97/ton |
| Zamak 5 processing fee | ¥1,300–1,400/ton | flat | ~$180–195/ton |
How to use these numbers
They are inputs, not quotes. Steel is one line in a tool cost — machining, polishing, design and trials usually dominate. Metal is one line in a part price alongside cycle time, cavitation, scrap rate and secondary operations. A quote that doesn't move when steel falls 15% isn't automatically wrong.
Use them to ask better questions. "Which tier of P20?" is a question that changes a quote. "Domestic or imported S136?" is another. When a supplier can answer specifically, you're dealing with someone who knows their own cost structure.
Watch the direction, not just the level. The quarter-over-quarter movement tells you whether a price increase you've just been handed reflects the market or reflects the supplier.
About the source
The figures come from SunOn Manufacturer Group — mold making, injection molding and die casting, in the Pearl River Delta. Mountain Xie owns the group. He has spent 30+ years in hardware design and manufacturing management for century-old European and American brands: 366 projects, 50 million units, 60+ countries.
He publishes this index because the information asymmetry between Western founders and Chinese factories is the single most expensive thing in early hardware manufacturing — and most of it is preventable with a reference price.