
A potential easing of trade tensions between the United States and Canada could reshape the North American aluminum market, with European buyers facing the risk of stronger competition for Canadian metal. Import data from ITC Trade Map shows that US purchases of Canadian unwrought aluminum fell sharply in 2025, while imports from Canada increased across six European markets, highlighting how trade flows have evolved amid tariff uncertainty. The United States imported approximately 2.03 million metric tons of unwrought aluminum from Canada in 2025, down 25.9% from 2.74 million metric tons in 2024. The decline amounted to around 711,494 metric tons over the year. Import value also decreased, falling 22.2% from $7.82 billion to $6.09 billion. The figures come as the possibility of a...
Century Aluminum’s proposed USD 4 billion primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, is “moving forward on all fronts” as the company prepares for construction, despite local opposition and legal challenges, CEO Jesse Gary said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Developed jointly by Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the project is designed to produce 750,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually, potentially doubling U.S. primary aluminum production. The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and add USD 1.5 billion to Oklahoma’s gross domestic product, according to company estimates. The partners had targeted construction to begin by the end of 2026. However, local restrictions and permitting challenges have affected the...
Grow with
AL Circle

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday, December 20, that the United States would not levy tariffs on aluminium and steel imports from Brazil. Bolsonaro said, "A little while ago, I had the great satisfaction of receiving a phone call from Trump. (Trump) was convinced by my arguments, and he decided to tell all Brazilians that our steel and our aluminium will not have tariffs placed on them. I repeat there will be no tariffs." After the US President had threatened to apply aluminium and steel import tariffs on Brazil and Argentina, claiming that those countries weak currencies made it harder for the US food exports to compete, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and Argentine production minister Dante Sica had said that they would seek talks with Mr Trump. Mr Bolsonaro had said...

The US dollar recorded its best week since early November on the back of a series of strong US economic data that reduced the likelihood of a near-term cut in interest rates. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.3% on the day and finished at 97.68 last Friday. LME base metals and the SHFE complex increased for the most part. LME aluminium gained 0.06% and SHFE aluminium gained 0.39%. Three-month LME aluminium pulled back after rising to a high of US$1,805 per tonne, and closed slightly higher on the day at US$1,801 per tonne. As on December 20, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1770 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1770.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1801 per tonne, 3-months offer...

On Friday, December 20, Atlanta-based rolled and recycled aluminium firm Novelis Incorporation confirmed the receipt of approval from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) for its acquisition of Aleris Corporation for US$2.6 billion. As per the firm, this was the final approval required for the purchase, as Novelis already received a sign-off on the transaction from the appropriate United States and European Union regulatory agencies. Earlier this month, the firm announced that Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance already reached an agreement with Novelis to buy Aleris’s Duffel aluminium rolling mill in Belgium, allaying the Commission’s fears of an anti-competitive scenario had Novelis retained the plant. Novelis’ President and CEO Steve Fisher noted, “This is a significant...

As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, stood at 597,000 tonnes as of Monday December 23, down by 7,000 tonnes from last Thursday December 19. The current status of primary aluminium inventories across China is given in the chart below: A00 aluminium ingot price registered a drop of RMB 10 per tonne on Monday, 23 December 2019, after rising for four consecutive days. The price stood at RMB 14440 per tonne. The price is expected to move within a range of RMB 14420-14460 per tonne. Spot aluminium price is likely to be traded at a premium of RMB 130-170 per tonne. Source: Shanghai Metals Market Aluminium ingot price in Foshan and Wuxi dropped by RMB 20 per tonne and RMB 15 per tonne to...

Dixon Yacht Design has reportedly designed the concept of a 70-metre yacht - Project NewDawn, in a way that it offers effortless sailing performance with the interior comfort conventionally found on motor yachts. To offer maximum sailing potential with minimal sailing effort, the yacht has easy to operate Falcon Rigs, along with the twin rigs offering a suitable sail area to displacement ratio. The vessel built with an aluminium alloy superstructure, a high tensile steel hull, and a fixed keel with a partially ballasted centreboard would be boasting of a maximum speed of 19 knots. The interior features many design traits, including a large, glazed sun deck saloon on the main deck that faces aft to the swimming pool, to ensure a luxurious on-board experience. For accommodating guests, it...

Clean TeQ announced it would collaborate with Panasonic Corporation Global Procurement Company to develop applications for scandium aluminium alloys for the latter’s consumer and electronics products. Clean TeQ and Panasonic have also signed a binding scandium offtake heads of agreement. Under the agreement, Clean TeQ will supply up to five tonnes per annum of scandium oxide from its Sunrise Project in Australia. Clean TeQ’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Riggall, said, “We are seeing strong interest in scandium-aluminium alloys from a range of industries. Scandium allows us to create a new generation of aluminium alloys with unrivalled functionality – alloys that are stronger, lighter, corrosion-resistant and weldable. As the largest resource in the world of this rare metal, Clean TeQ...

According to a company report, management at Aluminij Mostar, Bosnia's sole aluminium smelter has resigned after a potential investor submitted an inadequate buying offer for the smelter. The debt-ridden smelter was shut down in July because of high electricity and alumina prices. A failure to find a strategic partner for the company, after miner and commodity trader Glencore and other investors backed out of a takeover deal led to the closure. Aluminij’s debt amounted to 380-million Bosnian marka (US$216.5-million), and the financial and tax police were investigating its operations. In September, a consortium of Israeli and Chinese companies offered to invest in the smelter in exchange of subsidised electricity prices and government aid in delayed debt payment. The government refused to...

Liaocheng in the west of Shandong province, China, has reportedly begun to implement level I response to heavy smog from today onwards, December 20, except for those graded as A-level on environmental status, to strengthen production cuts. This was implemented after the city issued a red alert, the highest in Beijing’s three tier warning system, on late Thursday. Weather forecasts showed heavy smog could strike the city in the week ahead. However, the implementation of level I response to heavy smog is unlikely to affect primary aluminium producers in the city, such as Xinfa Group’s plants and Liaocheng Xinyuan Group’s facilities. They meet A-level grade given their standards on techniques, pollution treatment and emissions. Xinfa’s alumina refinery, with the capacity of 3 million tonnes...

India’s exports of total aluminium including crude metal and alloys and semi-finished products to the US in the first three quarters of 2019 stood 8.19% lower than the same period of 2018. India exported 164,800 tonnes of aluminium to the US in January-September, from 179,500 tonnes in January-September 2018, as updated by US Census Bureau. In September, aluminium exports amounted to 7,390 tonnes, less 58.41% from September 2018’s export volume of 17,770 tonnes. On a month-on-month comparison, exports declined by 31.64% from 10,810 tonnes in August. Crude metal and alloys export fell 70.64% or 9,890 tonnes year-on-year and 36.48% or 2,360 tonnes month-on-month in September 2019. Exports stood at 4,110 tonnes, down from 14,000 tonnes in September 2018 and from 6,470 tonnes in August. India...

The National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) was allotted the Pottangi bauxite mines in Koraput district after the public hearing for environment clearance approved the mining project. Thousands of villagers around Pottangi block attended the meeting and expressed their support for the project. The hearing was held as a part of the statutory conditions for getting mining rights. Present and past members of Parliament of Koraput and others were also present in the meeting. For the company’s expansion plans this additional source of bauxite is essential. Pottangi bauxite mine will have a production capacity of 3.5 MTPA. The mining lease is expected to benefit and contribute for the development of Pottangi and adjoining areas. A press release says that apart from infrastructure...

The US dollar was roughly flat on Thursday as the market awaited the release of US gross domestic product data on Friday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.01% and finished at 97.39. LME base metals mostly increased and the SHFE complex rose across the board. LME aluminium gained 1.01% and SHFE aluminium grew 0.35%. Three months LME aluminium got support from flat US dollar and its bullish SHFE counterpart and closed higher at US$ 1788 per tonne. As on December 19, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1765 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1765.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1786 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1788 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 1845 per tonne,...

Tianjin Zhongwang Aluminium Co., Ltd. has become a new Production & Transformation member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). This brings the total number of ASI members to 109. “Sustainable development’ is the goal that Zhongwang Aluminum has always advocated. Joining ASI is both a major challenge and a firm commitment. We make our contribution to building a sustainable society by responsibly producing aluminium processed products. We look forward to being part of the ASI family and benefiting from the sharing of experiences and exchanges with other members, enabling our customers to provide end consumers with aluminium products that meet the highest sustainability standards,” Wang Fei, chairman of Tianjin Zhongwang Aluminium Co., Ltd. Tianjin Zhongwang Aluminium Co., Ltd.,...

Hydro announced that Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil temporarily halted the production following a power outage on December 18. Regular power supply to the bauxite mine is expected to resume within 5-10 days. After the power outage, Hydro temporarily cut the production capacity of Alunorte alumina refinery by around 50-70% to prolong the lifetime of the bauxite inventories. “On December 18, a transmission tower overturned, ceasing power supply to Hydro’s Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil, temporarily halting the production at the mine. Regular power supply to Paragominas is expected to resume within 5-10 days,” according to Hydro press release. “The 244 km bauxite pipeline going from Paragominas to Alunorte has been emptied using back-up power. There were no personnel injuries or...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has decided to end the week with another rise, though marginal, while all the input costs have remained restrained. Marking the fourth straight day of growth, the ingot price today has increased by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 14,450 per tonne, on Friday, December 20. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 14,430 per tonne and RMB 14,470 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 140-180 per tonne. The continued rise in the A00 aluminium ingot price could be attributed to the tight supply of primary aluminium in the market amidst decent consumption of the metal. Also, the production is on a lower trend because of the output cut at many smelters during the ongoing Winter Heating Season....

As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, inventories of aluminium billet fell for the tenth consecutive week. Stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China declined by 2,100 tonnes from Thursday December 12 to stand at 52,300 tonnes as of Thursday December 19, after dipping 22,400 tonnes in the previous week. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: Inventories of aluminium billet in Wuxi, Jiangsu and Changzhou, Jiangsu stood at 12,400 tonnes and 4,600 tonnes, down 3,600 tonnes and 600 tonnes from December 12. Huzhou, Zhejiang stocks dropped 2,000 tonnes from 13,000 tonnes to 11,000 tonnes. But the inventories of aluminium billet in Foshan, Guangdong and Nanchang, Jiangxi increased by 3,400...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the social inventories of primary aluminium in China continued to drop this week, with Guangdong contributing to more than half to the trend. Stocks across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, came in at 604,000 tonnes, as on Thursday, December 19, after declining by 44,000 tonnes. On the last Thursday, December 12, the inventories had amounted to 648,000 tonnes after decreasing by 57,000 tonnes week-on-week. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: In Wuxi, the inventories have declined by 14,000 tonnes over the week to come in at 193,000 tonnes, while that in Shanghai and Nanhai by 2,000 tonnes and 24,000 tonnes to stand at 119,000 tonnes and 131,000 tonnes. In many...

ASI has certified the BMW Group against ASI Performance Standard. The group achieved Material Stewardship Certification for its light metal foundry at BMW Group plant in Landshut, Germany for responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. The plant produces aluminium engine components as well as structural parts for the vehicle body including cylinder heads or crankcases, as well as side members and tailgate frames. ASI ‘material stewardship’ certification process addresses issues such as product design, life cycle assessments, management of process scrap and collection and recycling of products at end-of-life. The independent, third-party audit of the BMW Group plant was carried out by Bureau Veritas. Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said “We warmly...

Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced that seven additional Hydro Aluminium Extruded Solutions operations have been certified against its standards for responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. The certification includes operations for ingot casting, extrusion, fabrication and surface finishing of aluminium profiles, and manufacture of aluminium tubes at the production sites in Atessa (Italy), Drunen (Netherlands), Feltre (Italy), Ghlin (Belgium), Harderwijk (Netherlands), Ornago (Italy) and Raeren (Belgium) “This is an important accomplishment by our extrusion team in Europe, and very good news for their customers, who want sustainable materials from companies that do business the right way,” said executive vice president Egil Hogna, who leads Hydro’s...