PV aluminium extrusion: This week, operating rates among sampled PV frame enterprises showed divergence. Some top-tier PV frame enterprises in Anhui and Hebei continued to run at relatively full operating rates; some other small and medium-sized integrated industrial extrusion enterprises reported that, for profitability considerations, they have proactively controlled production and reduced PV frame orders after the holiday, but their PV frame orders are limited, having little impact on the overall PV aluminium extrusion operating rate. From the downstream module side, October module scheduled production is expected to edge up from September, but the growth falls short of expectations, with China's scheduled production increasing by only 1-2 GW, providing limited support for PV-related...
This week, the overseas aluminium market overall remained in the doldrums. Weak demand continued to be the core issue across major markets, with offer prices in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the US, and China generally under pressure. Trading activity was sluggish, and the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers persisted, with the market lacking clear directional guidance overall. Japan: MJP negotiations continue, market sentiment remains subdued The Japanese market remained relatively quiet this week, with focus still on the progress of Q4 MJP negotiations. Some sellers are still negotiating premiums with buyers, but the two sides have significant differences in price expectations, and negotiations are progressing slowly. As a result, the MJP market remains subdued, with limited spot...
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Five years after taking control of Metra, KPS Capital Partners is preparing to hand over the aluminium extrusion company to Poland’s Grupa Kęty in a deal valued at EUR 645 million (USD745 million). The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 pending customary approvals, will bring Metra under the ownership of a Warsaw-listed industrial group with an established presence in aluminium extrusion, architectural and sun protection systems, and flexible packaging. For Metra, the deal comes after a period of expansion under KPS. The private equity firm acquired the company in July 2021 and used the following five years to reshape the business through acquisitions, capacity investments and expansion into new markets. During KPS ownership, Metra completed five add-on...
In the first half of 2025, humanity generated more electricity from renewables than from coal for the first time ever. What led to it? It was possible only because of two decades of falling solar panel prices, taller wind turbines, and governments finally treating clean power like an economic opportunity instead of a favour to the planet. But the renewable energy scenario cannot be portrayed as a single global story. To get the full picture, one has to connect dozens of regional stories moving at wildly different speeds. Some countries are already powered almost entirely by sun, wind and water. Others are still warming up. Here is a tour of how renewable energy supply looks across the world’s regions right now, and who is actually leading the charge. The global scorecard: Renewable energy...
Kibar Americas has begun production at the former Novelis aluminium plant in Fairmont, marking the facility’s return to operation more than a year after its sudden closure resulted in the loss of more than 180 jobs. The reopening was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local leaders and former plant workers, highlighting the facility’s return as a manufacturing site and Kibar Americas’ plans to build up its workforce. For Fairmont Deputy Mayor Josh Rice, the reopening carried a personal significance. Rice spent 13 years working at the former Novelis plant before its closure, which left him and nearly 200 other employees without work. “It was like a brotherhood, the guys that I had here,” Rice said. “So, when you come here for things like that, I’ve had several tragic things...
Tampa Brass & Aluminum is putting USD 58 million into its Hillsborough County facility following a series of new military contracts. The investment in machinery and equipment will also bring 50 new jobs to the area. The company manufactures components for the US Air Force and US Navy, handling production from raw materials through to finished products for missiles, submarines and other military systems. The new positions will offer an average annual salary of USD 83,200. The expansion comes under the company’s new ownership and will add positions including non-destructive testing technicians and supervisors, quality control inspectors, welding inspectors and nuclear engineering technicians. Tampa chosen for manufacturing expansion Company leadership also considered Amarillo, Texas, before...
The proposed USD 4 billion aluminium smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, has entered another review phase as the US continues efforts to strengthen domestic aluminium production. Inola town trustees have unanimously extended the moratorium on the project through April 7, 2027, giving the proposed development a longer pause as local concerns and legal challenges continue to be considered. The latest decision extends the 60-day moratorium approved on June 29, which was originally due to expire on September 28. The town has also voted to put a proposed ordinance banning primary aluminium smelting within Inola city limits before voters on April 7, 2027. Inola project comes after years of efforts to strengthen domestic aluminium manufacturing. Section 232 tariffs, introduced in 2018, aimed to reduce...
Alcoa’s proposed acquisition of South32’s assets is expected to improve its position on the aluminium industry cost curve while expanding its operations across bauxite, alumina and aluminium. The transaction includes a bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Western Australia, located next to Alcoa’s existing operations. It also covers South32’s minority interests in the Alumar smelter and refinery in Brazil, along with the Hillside aluminium smelter in South Africa. Alcoa Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Molly Beerman said the assets were a strong strategic fit with the company’s existing portfolio. Hillside uses technology already operating at two Alcoa smelters, allowing the company to apply its existing technical and operational expertise to the acquired assets. Alcoa...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price reported improvements, rising above 1 per cent across the pricing segment, followed by modest gains in contracts on the September 14 close, recovering from the downward trend reported at the September 13 session . The LME aluminium cash bid and offer prices gained USD 37 per tonne or 1.13 per cent day-on-day on September 14. The bid climbed to USD 3,310 per tonne from USD 3,273 per tonne and the offer shifted to USD 3,311 per tonne from USD 3,274 per tonne. On September 14, the LME aluminium three-month bid and offer prices reported a USD 7 per tonne or 0.22 per cent rise over the previous close. The bid moved to USD 3,256 per tonne from USD 3,249 per tonne as the offer price surged to USD 3,257 per tonne from USD 3,250 per tonne. The upward...
Domestic alumina spot prices held steady with slight adjustments last week, and scattered transactions showed mixed pricing. On the supply side, recent domestic alumina operating capacity stayed at around 99.4 million tonnes per year. A new alumina project in Beihai, Guangxi, is expected to start feeding material for trial production late this month, with associated capacity of about 2 million tonnes per year, and specific progress will be tracked closely. Meanwhile, roughly half of the industry's capacity is now running at a full-cost loss, and some producers have even slipped into cash-flow losses. Costs show no signs of easing though, and with few bullish drivers in sight, sector loss pressures keep mounting. Prices held flat last week mainly because new capacity releases are still...
A Canadian aluminium extruder is refusing to move its production to the US despite facing a sharp increase in tariffs that could effectively shut it out of one of its largest markets. Apex Aluminum Extrusions, based in Langley, British Columbia, says more than 40 per cent of its sales previously went to the US. The company expects those exports to fall to zero as US tariff measures on aluminium extrusions intensify. Darren McQueen, head of Apex, said the combined impact of the latest measures would result in a 100 per cent tariff on the company's selling price from September 15, after Section 338 tariffs are stacked on top of Section 232 duties. "Forty-plus per cent of our sales were into the U.S., and that will drop to zero," McQueen said. The company produces aluminium profiles used...
As we reflect on the Middle East crisis that commenced on February 28, 2026, and stretched into the second half of the year, it brings to mind the dramatic rise and fall of the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price that reached four-year highs before cooling down. The skyrocketing prices result from the declining inventory levels of the LME aluminium stocks, thereby reporting a month-on-month decline from 498,670 tonnes in January to 320,314 tonnes in June. LME H1 inventory trend: 2026 vs 2025 vs 2024 How has the LME aluminium inventory scenario fared across the January-June period? Here is the six-month cumulative year-on-year comparison among 2026, 2025 and 2024: H1 2026 – 2.48 million tonnes, down 12.88 per cent Y-o-Y H1 2025 – 2.85 million tonnes, down 31.82 per cent Y-o-Y H1...
A cut in US tariffs on Canadian aluminium alone is unlikely to bring down the elevated Midwest aluminium premium significantly, according to Alcoa CFO Molly Beerman, as the US still relies on imports from other countries to cover a structural supply gap. Speaking at the Jefferies Global Industrials Conference in New York, Beerman said the US needs to import around 4 million tonnes of aluminium a year, while Canadian suppliers can provide roughly 3 million tonnes. The remaining 1 million tonnes must come from other markets, where tariffs or other trade barriers continue to support higher delivered costs. The Midwest premium, the surcharge US buyers pay above the London Metal Exchange aluminium price for physical metal, currently stands at USD 1.09 per pound (USD 2,403 per tonne). It has...
The latest escalation in the US-Canada trade dispute is putting pressure on one of North America's most deeply integrated manufacturing networks, with auto-parts makers facing higher costs and growing uncertainty over where and how components should be produced. The two countries have spent decades building an automotive supply chain in which parts and materials routinely cross the border multiple times before reaching a finished vehicle. The latest tariff measures, including duties on aluminium and steel, threaten to disrupt that model and could force suppliers to reconsider long-established production routes. The immediate challenge for automakers and their suppliers is deciding whether to absorb higher costs in the short term or make expensive changes to their supply chains. For...
Alba Voronezh has launched a new aluminium beverage can manufacturing plant in the Voronezh region of Russia, with a production capacity of up to 4,000 cans per minute. The facility, located at the “Center” Special Economic Zone (SEZ), represents an investment of RUB 12 billion (USD 143 million). Construction was completed in 11 months, according to Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev. The plant has created more than 200 jobs and is expected to produce around 1 billion aluminium cans a year. Its warehouses can hold up to 150 million cans. The facility is expected to meet at least 25 per cent of Russia’s demand for aluminium beverage packaging. Over the next 10 years, the plant is projected to contribute around RUB 3 billion (USD 36 million) in taxes to the regional budget, along with more...
Russian aluminium producer RUSAL is nearing the final stage of the permitting process for a planned bauxite-to-alumina processing project in Kalimantan, Indonesia, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. The project will process bauxite into alumina as part of Indonesia’s push to expand domestic mineral processing. Lahadalia said the Indonesian government is involved in the overall development, while RUSAL will work directly with Indonesian private companies on the project. Lahadalia said, “They are going to build a downstreaming facility to process bauxite into alumina. It will be located in Kalimantan. The permitting process is already in the near-final stage.” The minister has not yet disclosed the names of RUSAL’s local partners or the expected investment...
Venezuela’s biggest aluminium smelter, Venalum, could be heading for a fresh start as Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. and Glencore Plc explore a potential deal that could bring new investment and operating expertise to the facility that has spent years producing only a fraction of its original capacity. The talks come as Venezuela seeks to rebuild an industrial sector weakened by economic turmoil, power shortages and years of underinvestment. Discussions with the Venezuelan government have included the possibility of taking over operations at the Venalum smelter and securing access to the aluminium it produces, according to Bloomberg News. Mercuria is working with private mining investment firm Heeney Capital on the potential transaction. The two companies have previously worked together on...
Odisha has handed over more than 7,000 acres of land for the Adani Group-International Resources Holding (IRH) joint venture’s proposed USD 11.5 billion integrated aluminium complex. This covers planned alumina refining, aluminium smelting and downstream manufacturing facilities across Sundargarh and Rayagada districts. The land includes around 4,000 acres in Sundargarh district and 3,000 acres in Rayagada district. In the presence of India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, the documents were handed over by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The project is being developed as a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani Group and IRH, a unit of Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company. It will cover several stages of the aluminium value chain, from alumina refining and aluminium...
LME aluminium prices recorded a sharp decline on September 11 compared with the previous trading day, with cash and three-month prices falling by around 2%, while exchange stocks edged lower. The LME aluminium cash bid price slipped to USD 3,273 per tonne on September 11, compared with USD 3,342 per tonne on September 10, marking a 2.06 per cent decline. The cash offer price followed the same trend, falling to USD 3,274 per tonne from USD 3,343 per tonne, also down 2.06 per cent. The weakness extended to the three-month contract. The 3-month bid price fell to USD 3,249 per tonne from USD 3,316 per tonne, representing a 2.02 per cent drop, while the offer price declined to USD 3,250 per tonne from USD 3,318 per tonne, down 2.05 per cent. Further down the forward curve, the December 27 bid...
Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) and India’s Adani Group have expanded their investment plans in Odisha, outlining INR 2.105 trillion (USD 25 billion) of potential investment across 14 projects spanning metals, critical minerals, energy, chemicals and infrastructure. The agreement, signed during Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s visit to the UAE, builds on the companies’ earlier USD 11.5 billion aluminium project announced in July. The broader portfolio includes metal downstream industries, slurry pipelines, critical minerals and rare earths, chemicals and petrochemical derivatives, renewable energy equipment, healthcare, tourism, skills development and industrial and sports infrastructure. The Odisha government estimates the 14 projects could create about...
