Germany’s aluminium import up YOY driven by stronger automotive demand

Europe’s major aluminium market is Germany, which is home to the world’s largest automakers. Germany accounts for about 25% of total aluminium consumption in Europe and the country ranks first in the world with per capita aluminium consumption of 42.1 kg.

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Germany is not a leading producer of primary aluminium. The primary smelters produce about 700,000 tons of primary aluminium and the country imports most of its aluminium to feed its domestic downstream industries.

Germany imported 2.4 million tonnes of aluminium (alloyed & non-alloyed) in 2015, which increased to total at 2.5 million tonnes in 2016. Based on this statistics, for the first ten months of 2017, the volume is estimated to total at 2.1 million tonnes. The trend shows increasing consumption of aluminium in Germany mostly driven by automotive parts industry. 

Cost from import of aluminium in Germany has however dropped year-over-year. The cost from aluminium import was USD 5.2 billion and USD 4.6 billion respectively for the years 2015 and 2016. For the first ten months of 2017, the cost of import is estimated to be about USD 3.7 billion. The estimate may change based on the trends in LME aluminium prices. The drop in value in last two years can be attributed to an oversupply of cheaper aluminium in the international markets.

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According to analysts demand for aluminium in Western Europe has been continuously driven by rising economic activity in Germany. Germany’s automotive industry exports the main part of its production and has a high growth potential, supported by the thriving emerging economies, which increases the consumption of automotive vehicles. Further growth in the automotive market in Germany will drive the development of the global aluminium industry significantly.