Storvik has won a contract to operate and maintain the automated anode rod repair system at Alcoa's Mosjøen aluminium smelter in Norway. The agreement extends a partnership that began in 2016, when the company introduced its In-Line Rod Repair (ILRR) system at the plant. Storvik Mosjøen, a subsidiary of Storvik group will now handle the operation of the robotic repair line and maintenance of the anode yokes processed through it. Storvik Engineering built the system, with both companies working together on its installation and commissioning. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook " Anode rod assemblies are essential to primary aluminium...
Rio Tinto has secured a five-year operating arrangement for its Bell Bay aluminium smelter in northern Tasmania, backed by a government support package worth USD 200 million. The agreement includes a commitment to maintain a minimum level of employment at the 71-year-old facility until at least 2031, easing concerns over its future amid uncertainty about electricity costs. Rio Tinto's aluminium chief executive Jérôme Pécresse confirmed the employment commitment but did not disclose the number of jobs covered. The guarantee is understood to cover around 500 positions. Bell Bay currently employs about 550 people and supports a further 1,200 jobs, with its future previously uncertain as the company sought a new power agreement. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of...
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Arconic Inc. reported fourth quarter 2018 and full year 2018 results. The company delivered revenues of $3.5 billion in Q4 2018, up 6% year over year. Organic revenue was up 10% YoY, driven by higher volumes across all segments with double digit growth in most major end markets. For full year 2018, revenue was $14.0 billion, up 8% YoY. Organic revenue was up 7% YoY. The company reported net income of $218 million in Q4.For full year 2018, net income stood at $642 million, from a net loss of $74 million in full year 2017. Net income excluding special items was $162 million, from $152 million in Q4 2017. The increase was driven by higher volumes and lower expenses for pension, interest, and taxes, largely offset by higher aluminium prices and unfavourable product mix. Full year 2018 net...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, grew 13.4 per cent over a week-long Chinese New Year Holiday, as on today, February 11. Compared to 1.378 million tonnes as of January 31, the primary aluminium inventories today came in at 1.562 million tonnes, up 184,000 tonnes. Over the same period, stocks in Wuxi and Hangzhou grew from 513,000 tonnes to 578,000 tonnes, up 13 per cent while that in Shanghai rose from 299,000 tonnes to 310,000 tonnes, up about 4 per cent. In other markets like Nanhai and Guangdong, and Gongyi and Henan, the inventories increased 30 per cent and 12 per cent to stand at 274,000 tonnes and 142,000 tonnes respectively. The below chart indicates the current...
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), announced its financial results for the third quarter ended December 2018 and up to end third quarter 2018-19. India’s leading manufacturer and exporter of alumina and aluminium posted a higher than expected operating profit of INR589 crore in the 3rd quarter of 2018-19, registering 80% growth over the same period of last year. Net profit in Q3 stood at INR 302 crore. During the first nine months of the current fiscal, net profit increased stood at INR1499 crore, up 38% year on year, from INR1085 crore during the comparable period of the previous fiscal. Net sales rose 32% YoY to INR8644 crore. NALCO achieved record growth in production in all fronts. The achieved production of 55.39 lakh tonnes of bauxite during the first nine months of the...
China Customs data found that bauxite imports into China jumped in 2018 to total at 85.61 million tonnes against 64.63 million tonnes in 2017. The Chinese government’s environmental restrictions and crackdowns on the black market tightened domestic supplies and thus prompted increasing imports of the ore. Expansion of alumina production through the year also been a reason for China’s growing bauxite imports in 2018. In the first 10 months of last year, China’s bauxite imports accounted for about 45 per cent of the country’s overall bauxite supplies, as domestic production rose by only 1.8 per cent year-on-year during that time. China’s alumina production, on the other hand, recorded about 70.48 million tonnes in 2018, up 3.01 per cent from 68.35 million tonnes in 2017. Production lines at...
The Shanghai Metals Market opened today after almost a week-long Chinese New Year Holiday from February 4 to February 10 with a drop in A00 aluminium ingot price. Registering a dip by RMB 30 per tonne, the ingot price today, on February 11, stood at RMB 13,270 per tonne, according to the data found by SMM. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,250 per tonne and RMB 13,290 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 120 per tonne to RMB 80 per tonne. The average discount thus found dipped by RMB 40 per tonne to RMB 100 per tonne. This marked the second decline this month as the price of the ingot recorded a reduction from RMB 13,390 per tonne to RMB 13,300 per tonne on February 1, just before the SMM went on the Chinese New Year break. The aluminium ingot price in the...
The US dollar rose against a basket of currencies last week, taking the index to a five-week high of 96.7. LME base metals traded mixed last week. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange edged higher on Friday, February 8. The light metal contract closed at US$1865 per tonne, up 0.13 per cent from US$1862.5 per tonne on Thursday, February 7. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1870-1900 per tonne today. As on February 8, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1864.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1865 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1889 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1889.50 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2020 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2025 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood...
Russian aluminium producer Rusal said its value added products sales in the fourth quarter of 2018 stood at 333 thousand tonnes, a drop of 32.4 per cent quarter on quarter, compared to 492 thousand tonnes in the third quarter of 2018. “Commodity and value added products (VAP3) sales in 4Q18 were significantly challenged by short OFAC General License extensions,” the company said. For the full year of 2018, sales of VAP dropped by 11 per cent to 1,664 thousand tonnes, as compared to 1,869 thousand tonnes in 2017. The share of VAP sales in total sales now stands at 45% <iframe width="540" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EVasm2kR-0Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Aluminium production...
Following Delhi and Kerala, Andhra Pradesh now aims at deploying 10 lakh electric vehicles across all segments and 1 lakh charging station in the next five years. The news came after Chandrababu Naidu-led government rolled out its electric vehicle policy on Wednesday, February 7. Per the report, the new vehicle policy introduced by Naidu will not allow any new registration of petrol and diesel powered cars. However, the government is yet to provide a timeline. The state is also planning to replace 11,000 state-run buses into electric for achieving 100 per cent electrification in public fleet. Beside this, the state also wishes to convert all government corporations, boards, and ambulances to electric vehicles. Around 60,000 new jobs are expected to be created with the onset of this...
Scrap dealers in Japan have notified today, on February 8 that the prices of used aluminium beverage cans or UBC are down by 8 per cent since the start of this year. Beverage makers’ shift to plastic polyethylene terephthalate bottles is the main reason for this price fall, said the dealers further. According to scrap dealers in Tokyo and Nagoya, transaction prices this week were at Yen 110-120/kg (($1,010-$1,100/mt) ex-yard, down 8% from a month ago. Six months before, the prices were at about Yen 140-150/kg, noted one dealer. The decrease in beverage consumption after the summer months reduce the availability of used cans and therefore, the supply. But this also typically failed to push the prices up. Also, the high-grade aluminium price fall in London Metal Exchange from above US$...
Rusal, a leading global aluminium producer, announced operating results for the fourth quarter of 2018 and for the 12 months ended 31 December 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018, total alumina production decreased by 2.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Alumina production stood at 1,958 thousand tonnes. The company said Russian alumina operations accounted for 34 per cent of the total output. The performance of Rusal’s alumina assets was largely in line with the production plan. Rusal said overall alumina production in 2018 remained similar to 2017. The company produced 7,774 thousand tonnes of alumina last year. “In June 2018 the Company restarted operation of the Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea. As a result, despite various factors, including abnormal weather conditions that affected...
Rusal produced 3,719 thousand tonnes of bauxite in the fourth quarter of 2018, a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 3.4 per cent.The company had produced 3,848 thousand tonnes of bauxite in the third quarter of 2018. For the full year of 2018, the company achieved total production of 13,847 thousand tonnes of bauxite, an increase of 18.9 per cent year-on-year from 11,645 thousand tonnes in 2017. “In June 2018 the Company announced the completion of the first stage of development of the Dian-Dian bauxite deposit and the reopening of the operations of the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex. As a result in 12M18 bauxite output increased by 18.9%, up to 13,847 thousand tonnes, Rusal said. Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. produced 1,394 thousand tonnes of bauxite in 2018, up 33.4 per cent year on...
Depending on the incessant increase in bauxite demand for primary aluminium production, one country that has come a long way as bauxite exporter in the last three years is none other than Montenegro. After a plunge in total export last year, the Balkan country is expected to turn around with a greater year-on-year export volume in 2019. According to our third-party data, Montenegro in 2019 is estimated to export around 1.39 million tonnes, in contrast to 1.08 million tonnes in 2018. This indicates that Montenegro’s bauxite export in 2019 is likely to rise by 29 per cent year-on-year. But in the year last, exports by Montenegro had fallen from 1.81 million tonnes in 2017, down 40 per cent. In 2016, on the other hand, Montenegro had exported 487,910 tonnes, which means 2017 had seen a...
Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange declined 1.27 per cent from the previous day and closed at US$ 1862.50 per tonne on Thursday, February 7.This marks a decline two days in a row after a rise from US$ 1840 per tonne to US$ 1896.5 per tonne on February 5, 2019. As on February 7, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1862 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1862.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1890 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1891 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2032 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2037 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1291800 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 673875 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 617925 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is...
The world’s second largest aluminium company by primary production output - Rusal once again proves its potential by recording a year-on-year growth in aluminium production in 2018. Even after going through critical conditions led by United States sanctions, the Russian aluminium giant produced 1.3 per cent more aluminium totalling 3.753 million tonnes in the noted year. Per the report, Rusal’s aluminium production in the fourth quarter of 2018 increased in comparison with the third quarter by 0.4 per cent to 943,000 tonnes. Last year, although the average aluminium price went up by 7.3 per cent to US$ 2,259 per tonne, the price in the fourth quarter lowered 7 per cent to US$2,115 per tonne. The London Metal Exchange (LME) said in a statement last month that the LME lifted restrictions on...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) released its Full-Year and Fourth Quarter of 2018 results on Thursday February 07, 2019.The company reported a net loss of BD 17.5 million (US$ 47 million) in Q4 2018, down by 175% from a net Income of BD 23.4 million (US$ 62.4 million) in Q4 2017. Alba reported a gross loss of BD 7.4 million (US$ 20 million) versus a gross profit of BD 37.3 million (US$ 99.2 million) in Q4 2017, down by 120% YoY. Total Sales/Revenues stood at BD 211.5 million (US$ 562.6 million) in Q4 2018, down 16% YoY, compared to BD 252.7 million (US$ 672.2 million) in Q4 2017. Alba’s top-line and bottom-line in Q4 were impacted primarily by lower sales’ revenue and higher alumina prices. In 2018, net income stood at BD 59.8 million (US$ 158.9 million), down by 35% YoY, compared to BD...
According to a Reuters report, the profit margins of Volvo Cars dropped in 2018, as a result of pricing pressure in the China market due to costs hike led by prolonged trade war between Washington and Beijing. The company CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Reuters that to indemnify the impact on margins which is expected to continue this year, Volvo has decided to increase production volumes and cut operational costs. Samuelsson said, “We have a very, very strong product offering and a modest market share outside Sweden, so we are expecting and planning for further growth.” “I would say we enter now into a phase where we have to focus more on the cost side as well - not with any special packages, but with normal work to improve our cost consciousness and cost control.” The Chinese premium car...
U.S. aluminium products manufacturer Arconic has appointed John C. Plant as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The company also said Elmer Doty, a current director, will serve as chief operating officer, and Arthur D. Collins, Jr., a current Director, will serve as Lead Director. John C. Plant will replace former General Electric veteran Chip Blankenship. Plant will oversee the company’s operations as well as the ongoing strategy and portfolio review. It is expected that Mr. Plant will serve in the role of Chief Executive Officer for a period of one year. Plant previously served as the CEO of auto parts maker TRW Automotive from 2003 to 2015. Mr. Doty has extensive knowledge of Arconic’s aerospace and defense markets, having served from December 2012 to February 2016 as President and...
A Cardiff-based aluminium fabricator Dudley’s Aluminium has reportedly begun work on the transformation of Exeter’s former bus and coach station into student accommodation, securing the £500,000 contract with Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. Exeter’s new student accommodation is expected to reopen as student accommodation in summer 2019. The company will install Kawneer curtain walling and doors, and provide solar shading to the modern student accommodation facility. Colin Shorney, managing director of Dudley's said: “We are thrilled to be working on this project with Sir Robert McAlpine,” while also adding “It aligns with our extensive commitment to working within the education sector and we’re proud to support the construction of student accommodation in Exeter." The new student accommodation...
