The U.S. almost halves its bauxite imports in Q1 FY 2017-18, volume down by 47% YoY

Bauxite imports by the U.S. in the first quarter of the current financial year have dropped both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, reported U.S. geological Survey in their latest Mineral Industry Surveys report. The imports of dried and crude bauxite in Q1 FY2017-18 totalled 790,000 tonnes, down 17 per cent from Q4 FY2016-17 and down 47 per cent from Q1 FY2016-17. The U.S. sourced 86 per cent and 14 per cent of its total bauxite imports for the quarter from Jamaica and Brazil respectively.

The actual quarterly imports of crude and dried bauxite from the first quarter of 2015 through the first quarter of 2017 are as follows:

Sources: Jamaica Bauxite Institute and U.S. Census Bureau.

If we look at the global export-import trade data, analysed based on a set of given factors, the estimated bauxite import volumes by the U.S. for Q4 FY2016-17, Q1 FY 2017-18, and Q2 FY 2017-18 stand as below:

In the meantime, in the international market, the Government of Indonesia modified its ban on exports of bauxite in January this year. The ban was implemented in January 2014. Malaysia extended its ban on bauxite mining until at least June 30. The Government of Malaysia imposed the mining ban in January 2016.

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The quarterly import and export volumes of crude and dried bauxite by the U.S. for the period spanning from Q1 FY2016-17 till Q1 FY20170-18 are summarized as below:

The major countries which have been supplying the U.S. with its bauxite requirements during the period include Brazil, Guinea, and Jamaica. The country also exports its surplus bauxite to Canada and Mexico, the volumes of which have also dropped significantly in the last quarter over the corresponding period previous year.

The drop in the bauxite imports is indicative of the fact that the primary aluminium industry in the U.S. has been dwindling under the pressure of global aluminium supply surplus and pricing volatility. Cheap imports of the metal from China also pose as a potential threat against which industry bodies are lobbying since long.