What is the MOQ for 2020 profile

For a standard 2020 (and the other catalogue T-slot sizes in the same family) the MOQ is 150 m when the die already exists, and 500 m when a new die must be cut.

The number does not change just because the envelope is 2020 rather than 4040; what changes is how many kilograms that metre count represents, and therefore how the order sits against finishing-line minima. At ~0.50–0.55 kg/m, 150 m of 2020 is only ~75–85 kg, which is a short press run but a normal existing-die release. 500 m is ~250–275 kg and is the new-die floor. The same metre rules apply across the common industrial sizes; only the weight and the packing length differ.

Can I buy a single piece of 2020 aluminium profile

No — a single piece of a production extrusion is not a production order; it is either a paid sample cut from an existing die or a retail cut from stocked length, and neither rewrites the 150 m / 500 m floors.

If the die exists, we can usually cut one or a few bars for fit check at a short-run metre rate plus express freight. That sample does not create a path to reorder one bar at production pricing. If the die does not exist, a single piece still requires the die; the economic path is a paid pilot length inside the new-die programme, then the 500 m production MOQ. The same answer holds for 3030, 4040, 4080 and the rest of the catalogue: the envelope changes the weight, not the rule.

What is the minimum order for a custom profile

A custom section that needs a new die has a 500 m minimum on the first production release, plus the die charge, because the tool has no alternate customer.

Die making typically adds 7–12 days before metal runs. The die fee is a separate line; how it amortises per metre is covered on the price-per-metre and die-cost pages. Ownership of the die after payment is a contract point — see who owns the extrusion die. A custom profile is not the same as a catalogue T-slot off a library die: the 150 m floor applies only when the tool already exists and is released for your alloy and finish.

Finishing can impose a second minimum. Anodising and powder lines often want a bath or oven load larger than a bare 500 m of a light section. Ask for the extrusion MOQ and the finishing MOQ as two numbers; the order must clear the higher of the two if you need coated metal.

What is the minimum quantity for a stock order

A stock or library-die order clears at 150 m per section, which is the existing-die MOQ, provided the alloy, temper and finish match what the die is set for.

“Stock” here means a die that already exists in the plant, not a promise that cut lengths sit on a shelf in every finish. Mill-finish releases are the simplest. A special anodise colour or a powder shade can reintroduce a finishing minimum even though the extrusion MOQ is 150 m. If you need less than 150 m of a library section for a repair, treat it as a sample or ask whether remnant lengths exist; do not assume production pricing.

Mixed-container path to MOQ. Different sections may ship in one container from Shanghai or Ningbo under one FOB, CIF, DAP or DDP booking. Each section must still meet its own 150 m or 500 m floor. A practical pattern for a frame programme is 150 m of 4040 + 150 m of 4080 + 150 m of 2020 braces on existing dies, rather than forcing one section to absorb the whole freight. New dies cannot borrow metres from a neighbour’s section.

Is there a price break for small orders by size

Yes — once you clear the MOQ, unit price steps down at 500 m, 2,000 m, 5,000 m and 10,000 m; below the MOQ there is no production break, only sample or surcharge pricing.

The table gives 2026 FOB Shanghai/Ningbo reference bands per metre for mill-finish 6063 industrial sections near the first step. Small orders that only just clear 150 m sit at the top of each band; crossing 2,000 m and 5,000 m is where the conversion adder thins. Die amortisation on a new tool is a separate per-metre adder until the die fee is recovered — see how die cost amortises per meter.