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...
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According to a recent report, Italian superyacht builder Rossinavi has collaborated with automotive style house Pininfarina for a second time to present the 65 metre all-aluminium superyacht concept Super Sport 65. Unveiled at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the concept has been designed inside and out by Pininfarina. The design has taken inspiration from high-performance car design and the “fluidity of Pininfarina’s iconic style", the builder said. The superyacht has an 11-metre beam and draft of 2.2 metres that give the yacht an easy access to shallow and remote bays. The total accommodation capacity of the yacht is for 12 guests in six cabins, including a large owner’s cabin at the bow. The crew quarters, on the other hand, consist of seven cabins for the captain and crew...
The alumina price on a FOB Australia basis rose to US$285 per tonne on October 28 in the beginning of the week ending Friday November 1, Shanghai Metal Market data shows. It is the highest since early October. The price is driven by renewed demand for imported alumina in China because of restocking by smelters. China aluminium price is on a higher range leading smelters to ramp up production in domestic smelters. According to Fastmarket’s benchmark daily alumina index, FOB Australia stood at US$285.18 per tonne on Friday, down only slightly from US$285.42 per tonne on the previous day. Before October 28 it had not traded above US$285 per tonne for four weeks. The price hit US$ 296 per tonne on October 8. According to market participants, a deal was concluded on Friday at US$307 per tonne...
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created an aluminium blanket which can be wrapped around homes to prevent from fire. Wildfires across California have destroyed many homes and other structures till date. They found a way to protect such homes by wrapping them in a blanket made from fire-proof material. It is based on the same principle like the fire-proof costumes worn by fire-fighters while entering a building on fire. Buildings best equipped to withstand a wildfire are usually made of steel, concrete, or brick. But a home also includes materials like plastics and laminates which are highly flammable along with broken and open windows and debris. Fire blankets are commonly used to extinguish small flames, but this is for the first time the idea is being used on homes....
A00 aluminium ingot price witnessed some swings throughout the week. The aluminium price started the week with an increase of RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 14,000 per tonne. But the ingot price dropped to RMB 13,940 per tonne on Tuesday, an RMB 60 per tonne decline. A00 aluminium ingot price ended the week higher at 14,000 per tonne, up from RMB 13,970 per tonne on Thursday. Source: Shanghai Metals Market As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, declined for the third consecutive week, as arrivals remained limited and consumption stayed robust. Stocks reduced by 12,000 tonnes from a week ago to 870,000 tonnes as of Thursday October 31. The chart below indicates the current status of primary...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) remains under heavy bearish pressure this week. The US dollar eased in the beginning of the week as growing hopes for a US-China trade deal improved risk sentiment and sapped demand for the safe-haven greenback. The dollar index started the week at 97.74 and continued downward to reach 97 level. LME aluminium opened the week higher than the last week’s closing on weak dollar. LME aluminium started the week with US$ 1727 per tonne and continued higher and closed the week slightly lower at US$ 1742.5 per tonne on Friday November 1. Three-month LME aluminium also started the week at US$1,736 per tonne and continued upward to close the week at US$ 1759 per tonne after Friday’s closing. However, LME aluminium entered backwardation on Friday with the spot price getting...
The European head of Novelis has reportedly pointed out that moves to reduce plastic packaging as a measure to protect the environment have started increasing the demand for aluminium packaging. Also, the trend towards electric cars is bolstering the demand for aluminium, according to world’s largest rolled aluminium producer’s senior vice president and Europe president Emilio Braghi. “Consumers want more sustainable beverage packaging options, which is having a direct and positive impact on aluminium demand as aluminium cans provide a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bottles,” Braghi said in an interview for LME Week 2019. He added that some of the world’s biggest beverage brands announced to address the plastic waste challenge by introducing new aluminium packaging for...
North America’s primary aluminium production totalled 310,000 tonnes in September, unchanged from September 2018 production. Aluminium output decreased 3.43% from 321,000 tonnes in August and 3.73% from 322,000 tonnes in July. Primary aluminium production in the first nine months of 2019 stood 1.93% higher than the same period last year. Total output was 2.858 million tonnes, compared to 2.804 million tonnes, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Aluminium production in North America came in at 3.774 million tonnes in 2018, IAI data showed. South America’s primary aluminium production amounted to 94,000 tonnes in September compared to 89,000 tonnes in the corresponding period the previous year. That was up 5.62% year-on-year. The output...
Shanghai Metals Market reports that China is speeding up the development of new energy vehicles, as Beijing and other major cities have announced plans to replace gas-powered taxis with electric cars in the next few years, as part of an initiative to boost NEV sales and reduce pollution. The Beijing Municipality Transport Commission said on October 30 that in the next two years, all newly registered or replacement taxis in Beijing have to be fully electric. According to the report from the commission, more than 1,000 brand new fully electric taxis have already hit the road in Beijing. By the end of next year, the target is to switch 20,000 taxis to NEVs. Shenzhen, the technology hub in South China, has also taken the lead among many other Chinese cities. Only fully electric vehicles will...
Ardagh Group announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. The company reported revenue of $2,377 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2019, down 1% year-on-year. On a constant currency basis, revenue rose by 2% on higher volumes in Metal Beverage Packaging Europe and Metal Beverage Packaging Americas and the pass through of increased input costs. Paul Coulson, Chairman and Chief Executive, said, “The Group reported a strong performance in the third quarter, with notable growth in Glass Europe and Metal Americas. We took advantage of favourable markets during the quarter to further improve our debt maturity profile and obtain material interest savings. We completed the Trivium transaction today, with cash proceeds of $2.5 billion to be used for...
Slowing economic growth and strict vehicle emission rules may bring down China’s new vehicle sales to 26 million in 2019 registering a drop of about 8 per cent YoY. This will be second consecutive yearly drop for the world’s biggest auto market. The sales drop forecast by Fu Bingfeng, executive vice chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) is more than his previous forecast of 5% drop in July. China, which has seen the biggest growth in the global auto industry in last 20 years, is going through downturn leading many leading automakers to cut down production. Automakers such as General Motors, Ford and Peugeot have all reported double-digit percentage sales declines. Smaller automakers have started cutting or closing down capacity and merging with other...
After the month-on-month fall in August 2019, China’s General Administration of Customs data found that China’s alumina import in September 2019 grew from the previous month by about 25 per cent to stand at 147,000 tonnes. In August, the import volume was at 120,000 tonnes after dropping by 40 per cent from 200,000 tonnes in July. Besides, on a yearly basis, China’s imports in September continued to record a robust surge of 331.9 per cent, but at a slower pace compared with August when the aluminium ore imports had soared by 848.4 per cent year-on-year. In the total nine months of 2019, China’s alumina imports came in at around 790,000 tonnes, up 93.3 per cent from the same period last year. According to report from China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association in June, China was expected...
Ball Corporation, a supplier of innovative, sustainable aluminium packaging solutions, reported net earnings attributable to the corporation of $92 million in the third quarter 2019 on sales of $2.95 billion, compared to $59 million in 2018. In January-September, net earnings attributable to the corporation were $406 million on sales of $8.76 billion, from $303 million on sales of $8.83 billion in January-September 2018. The company’s global beverage volumes increased by 4 per cent in the third quarter and 6 per cent in the first nine months of 2019. "Positive momentum in our aluminium beverage packaging and aerospace businesses continues. During the quarter, our global beverage volumes increased 4 percent and our aerospace contracted backlog increased 9 percent. With global customer and...
A Russian aluminium plant, owned by Russian aluminium major Rusal, which was shut down as a result of U.S. sanctions would be converted into a bitcoin mining hub. The Nadvoitsy Aluminum Plant in Russia’s northern Karelia region closed its operations last summer after it lost access to American customers after the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Rusal and En+ Group in April 2018. A part of the old production site is now being leased to the Russian Mining Company (RMC), which plans to utilize its cheap power sources and install bitcoin miners in the plant in order to expand across Russia, a local Russian business website RBC reported. International economic sanctions have propelled many countries toward cryptocurrencies or bitcoins. Now, Rusal has paved the way for a bitcoin mining...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the social inventories of primary aluminium, on Thursday, October 31, declined for the third consecutive week, as arrivals remained limited and consumption stayed robust. SMM data showed the primary aluminium stocks across eight major Chinese consumption areas, include SHFE warrants, plunged by 12,000 tonnes from a week ago to stand at 870,000 tonnes. On last Thursday, October 24, the primary aluminium inventories had decreased by 34,000 tonnes week-on-week to come in at 882,000 tonnes, followed by the decline of 61,000 tonnes to 916,000 tonnes on October 17. This indicates that although the primary aluminium inventories declined over the past three consecutive weeks, but recorded a slower pace each week. The chart below indicates the current status of...
According to the latest report from United States Geological Survey for aluminium, total aluminium recovered from scrap (recovery from purchased, tolled, or imported scrap) in August 2019 was 288,000 tonne, 5% more than the July volume of 275,000 tonnes. The volume is 9% less than the amount in August 2018, and 7% less than that in August 2017. Of this, 158,000 tonnes of aluminium were recovered from new scrap and 130,000 tonnes were recovered from old scrap. For the first eight months of 2019, total aluminium recovery from scrap stood at about 2.28 million tonnes, down 8% from 2.48 million tonnes in the same period of 2018. Of this, 1.3 million tonnes of aluminium were recovered from new scrap and 1 million tonnes were recovered from old scrap. Aluminium recovered from scrap or recycled...
After staying flat at RMB 2,623 per tonne from October 24-31, the average spot alumina price is down by RMB 27 per tonne on Friday, 01 November 2019, to RMB 2596 per tonne. Graph Source: Shanghai Metals Market Alumina price in East China stands at RMB 2625 per tonne, down RMB 25 per tonne from its previous price. Alumina prices in Central and North have declined by RMB 30 per tonne to stand at RMB 2610 per tonne and RMB 2600 per tonne as on November 1. South China remains unchanged at RMB 2520 per tonne. Prebaked anode prices in East and Central China markets have edged lower by RMB 50 per tonne each. As on Friday, 01 November 2019, prebaked anode price ranged at RMB 2800-3160 per tonne and RMB 2850-3230 per tonne; the average price stood at RMB 2980 per tonne and RMB 3040 per tonne. The...
National Environment Agency (NEA), together with drinks manufacturer Fraser and Neave (F&N), reportedly launched reverse vending machines at Our Tampines Hub in Singapore on Thursday, October 31, as part of 'The Recycle N Save' initiative. The machines will accept empty drink cans and plastic bottles, and for every four drink receptacles will issue a discount voucher worth 20 cents, which can be used at any FairPrice, Cheers, or FairPrice Xpress outlet. As per the report, the vending machines are capable of holding up to 600 aluminium cans and plastic bottles at a time, featured with a compactor that flattens the drink cans and bottles to save space. The initiative followed favourable response from the public to the pilot initiative at Waterway Point in Punggol in January last year. The...
The US dollar fell against a basket of major currencies, reversing earlier gains. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.16% and ended at 97.31. LME base metals and the SHFE complex mostly fell. LME aluminium gained 0.46% and SHFE aluminium edged slightly lower. LME aluminium regained losses last night after trading lower over the day. Three-month LME aluminium recovered after dipping to a low of US$1,733 per tonne, ending slightly higher overnight at US$1,759 per tonne, while bleak global growth outlook depressed most base metals. Three months LME aluminium is likely to trade in a range of US$1,730-1,770 per tonne. As on October 31, Thursday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1742 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands...
