Primary aluminium production in North America drops further in 2017

The Aluminum Association, in cooperation with the Aluminium Association of Canada, reported that primary aluminium production in North America (U.S. and Canada) was at an annual rate of 3,965,579 tonnes during April 2017. This registers a drop of 11,897 tpy (-0.3%) from the March 2017 rate of 3,977,476 tonnes.

The production rate in the U.S. decreased 1.3% m/m, while the Canadian rate was down slightly. On a year over year comparison, the North American annual rate was 1.1% below the April 2016 rate of 4,009,042 tonnes. Actual production through the first four months of 2017 totalled 1.3 million tonnes, down 4.7% from the same period of 2016.

{googleAdsense}

Imports of aluminium ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada stood at 898 million pounds in March 2017, up 26.9% over the March 2016 total of 708 million pounds.  Aluminium exports excluding scrap totaled 239 million pounds, down 10% from last year. Through the first quarter 2017, imports were up 40.6% to 2,518 million pounds, while exports were up 3.8% YoY to 1,488 million pounds.