Downstream aluminium is where geopolitics meets the shop floor. Tariffs, shipping disruption, regulation and shifting demand are deciding who rolls the metal, who gets it and what it becomes, whether a beer can, a battery housing or a length of wire. Fifteen recent developments across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania depict how aluminium flat rolled products (FRPs), packaging and electric vehicle (EV) demand are being rerouted, and where traders, exporters and buyers may need to adjust. Aluminium FRP and wire: tariffs and policy redraw the flows The tariff debate has reached the bar counter. In Virginia, Democrat Tom Perriello is campaigning on aluminium tariffs that he says raise brewers’ packaging costs. Across the border, a Windsor, Ontario brewery reports its...
The global aluminium industry is entering a new phase of competition, with access to raw materials, affordable energy and production capacity increasingly shaping the position of major producers. China is preparing a large overseas smelting expansion, Ghana is attracting investment in its bauxite reserves, and India and Vietnam are advancing new aluminium projects. However, the expansion drive comes against a complicated market backdrop. Alumina prices have fallen sharply, energy and logistics costs remain significant, and trade policies are reshaping the economics of production and exports. Together, these developments point to a market in which securing resources is only part of the challenge; converting them into competitive aluminium will matter just as much. Africa’s bauxite...
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In response to the sharp fall in LME aluminium benchmark price by US$181.50 per tonne on March 15, Hindalco Industries Limited has slashed its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices, with effect from March 16. Hindalco’s aluminium wire rod price has experienced a cut of INR 15,500 per tonne or 5.03 per cent to INR 292,850 per tonne. On March 15, the price stood at INR 308,350 per tonne, seeing a decline of INR 5,250 per tonne. Hindalco’s aluminium billets price has also been reduced by INR 15,500 per tonne, with effect from March 16, to stand at INR 295,850 per tonne versus INR 311,350 per tonne on March 15. The latest cut has brought the company’s aluminium ingot price to INR 281,750 per tonne as against INR 297,250 per tonne on the previous day. Hindalco links its aluminium ingot...
LME aluminium opened at US$3,288 per tonne on Wednesday, March 16, and closed at US$3,265.50 per tonne, down by US$33.50 per tonne or 1.02 per cent. After the three consecutive days of decline from US$3,535 per tonne to US$3,217.50 per tonne, LME aluminium prices recorded a rise on Wednesday, March 16. Both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price augmented by US$88.50 per tonne to stand at US$3,305 per tonne and US$3,306 per tonne, respectively. On the same day, 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price rose by US$73 per tonne to settle at US$3,325 per tonne and US$3,327 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price showed no exception but edged a hike of US$29 per tonne to close at US$3,122 per tonne and US$3,127 per tonne. LME aluminium...
National Aluminium Company Limited has reduced its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices for the second time in a row, with effect from Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in line with the continued sharp decline in LME aluminium price. With the latest cut, NALCO’s aluminium ingot price has come in at INR 281,050-284,550 per tonne, down by INR 24,800 per tonne from INR 305,850-309,350 per tonne on March 11. Aluminium wire rod price has also seen a slash of INR 24,800 per tonne on March 16 to range between INR 283,550-287,900 per tonne. Since the previous cut by INR 40,600 per tonne on March 11, NALCO’s aluminium wire rod price was being sold at INR 308,350-312,700 per tonne. With effect from March 16, aluminium billets price is standing at INR 284,500-287,150 per tonne versus INR...
Shares of Chinese aluminium profile manufacturer - Hoshion Industrial Aluminium soared on the occasion of bagging four new clients with business prospect of CNY 4 billion (US$628.8 million). On Tuesday, March 15, Hoshion declared that it could earn CNY3.6 billion to CNY4 billion in the subsequent four to eight years, being eligible to sell battery storage products to four carmakers. Hoshion’s equity price surged by the daily limit of 10 per cent to CNY33.46 (US$5.30), but still down by more than a quarter this year. One of the new clients is a European luxury vehicle brand, another is Chinese smart electric vehicle maker, and the other two are independent Chinese brands. Obtaining the letter of intent is advantageous to forming a long-term partnership with four firms, said Hoshion. Once...
AMAG, one of the biggest manufacturers and processors of aluminium in Austria, had been associated with aerospace component manufacturing through acquisition for 1.5 years. AMAG components, which has locations in Übersee am Chiemsee and Karlsruhe, was recently bought in its entirety and is a proven specialist in the mechanical processing of aluminium and titanium components. AMAG components have been working on titanium structural components for the aerospace sector using additive manufacturing since 2018/19, from research to demonstration pieces. Components are built up layer by layer using the WAAM technique (Wire-Arc-Additive-Manufacturing (wire build-up welding)), and then mechanical processing gives them their final shape. Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Franz Haas (Head of the...
The total amount of aluminium scrap imported from the United States by Mexico in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 closed at 45,100 tonnes. On a Q-o-Q comparison, there was a downfall of 1,400 tonnes or 3.38% from 41,400 tonnes in Q3’21. In December 2021, Mexico imported 11,700 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the United States, showing a month-on-month drop down of 3,500 tonnes or 23.02% from 15,200 tonnes in November. According to the USGS data, US exported 41,400 tonnes of aluminium scrap to Mexico in Q3, showing a jump of 500 tonnes or 1.22% from 40,900 tonnes in the second quarter of 2021. In the second quarter of 2021, Mexico imported a total of 40,900 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the United States. However, for the second quarter of 2021, a total of 40,900 tonnes of US aluminium...
Last week, Germany’s BGA trade association’s survey showed that German businesses abetted Berlin’s economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, knowing the ensuing economic slowdown that it could usher or threaten the supply of aluminium. German companies are joining each other in support of imposing sanctions on Russia. While corresponding with the press about the survey, BGA President Dirk Jandura pointed out that the constriction in the aluminium supply chain could turn the industry economic growth, as was predicted earlier, upside down. BGA added about two-thirds of its members expect an economic slowdown due to the sanctions. Although Germany’s trade with Russia accounts for only 3 per cent of its total overseas trading yet it is facing a challenge due to...
The world’s largest producer of low-carbon aluminium, Rusal is redirecting bauxite consignments from Guinea to its Aughinish Alumina refinery in Ireland, while it was originally destined to Nikolaev alumina refinery in Ukraine, according to the revelation of shipping data. However, the cause of diversion is due to the present situation of Russia-Ukraine military conflict that has triggered the suspension of operation for the refinery. The company that aims to encourage a circular economy by leveraging reverse logistics, Rethink Logistics concerning the sanctions on Russia, stated that the sort of supply chain disarray now rippling through the interrelated global economy, gearing up the prices for various goods. The Russian billionaire and founder of Rusal oligarch Oleg Deripaska have been...
LME aluminium opened at US$3,315 per tonne on Tuesday and closed at US$3,299 per tonne, down US$16 per tonne or 0.48%. As supply was interrupted by the increased Russia-Ukraine conflict, aluminium prices had reached a new high at around US$4,000 per tonne in early March. However, going by the recent graph, there had been a sudden dip in prices owing to the prolepsis of stock release in the market. On Tuesday, March 15, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price witnessed a sharp decline of US$181.5 per tonne to close at US$3,216.50 per tonne and US$3,217.50 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price further declined by US$158 per tonne or 4.63% and US$157 per tonne or 4.60% to score at US$3,252 per tonne and US$3,254 per tonne. For the same...
The local political leaders of the opposition party attended the meeting of workers at the Lohardaga Bauxite Dumping Yard in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The workers who were working in the dumping yard informed the attended political party under the leadership of Anil Oraon that the bauxite dumping yard is being shifted to Badki Champi. However, the statement delivered by another non-ruling political party leader, who is presently an MP of the upper house and former MLA of Lohardaga in this regard has also become public. In the name of providing jobs to the people there, cooperation is being sought in setting up a bauxite dumping yard. While workers said, “The leaders have been assuring us for 15 years in the name of INTUC Union that bauxite dumping yard will not be removed and they...
Hindalco Industries Limited cuts its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices for the third time in a row, with effect from Tuesday, March 15, as LME aluminium benchmark price slid further by US$73 per tonne on March 14. Hindalco has reduced its aluminium ingot price by INR 5,250 per tonne to INR 297,250 per tonne vs INR 302,500 per tonne on March 12. The company has also slashed its aluminium wire rod price by INR 5,250 per tonne from INR 313,600 per tonne on March 12 to INR 308,350 per tonne on March 15. The latest cut has brought Hindalco’s aluminium billets price to INR 311,350 per tonne, down by INR 5,250 per tonne or 1.66 per cent from INR 316,600 per tonne on March 12. Hindalco links its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices to the three-month future of aluminium on...
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded up to $579,786 in funding to Rio Tinto on behalf of the Australian government to conduct a feasibility study looking at the possibility of partially decarbonizing its alumina refining processes using renewable hydrogen. Natural gas is used in traditional alumina refining to generate the high temperatures required in the calcination process. Rio Tinto's Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone, Queensland, will look into the technical implications of replacing natural gas with renewable hydrogen. The outcome of the study will be used to determine the viability of a possible demonstration project to validate the findings. The $1.2 million research will be shared into two work packages, each sponsored equally by ARENA and Rio Tinto: At...
The first comprehensive research report on recycling value chain, launched by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), shows that aluminium cans best support a circular economy than glass or plastic (PET) bottles. This claim has been established after studying through collection, sorting, reprocessing and thermal processing, closed-loop recycling, and open-loop recycling in five regions – Brazil, China, Europe, Japan, and the United States. Study shows that out of 3.7 million tonnes of aluminium cans in the market, about 0.8 million tonnes or 21 per cent end up in landfills, whereas 32.2 million tonnes or 49 per cent of 65.1 million tonnes of glass bottles and 4.5 million tonnes or 39 per cent of 11.5 million tonnes of plastic bottles go to the landfill. This indicates that the...
In December 2021, US imported 29,600 tonnes of crude metals and alloys from Bahrain, a hike of 5,300 tonnes or 21.81% month-on-month. Imports of US aluminium crude metals and alloys from Bahrain for November 2021 closed at 24,300 tonnes, up 7,100 tonnes or 41.27% from 17,200 tonnes in October 2021. According to the USGS records, the total amount of US aluminium crude metals and alloys shipped from Bahrain in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 scored at 71,100, a surge of 49,730 tonnes or 232.70% from Q3’21. In the third quarter of 2021, the United States imported 21,370 tonnes of US aluminium crude metals and alloys from Bahrain, showing a downfall of 10,528 tonnes from 31,898 tonnes in Q2 2021. On a year-on-year calculation, US aluminium crude metals and alloys imported from Bahrain...
The leading global company Wipro, recognized for its information technology and cybersecurity solutions declared that Speira, a leading global manufacturer of advanced rolled aluminium products, producing approximately one million tonnes per year has selected Wipro as their technology associate. In 2021, Speira was formed when Norsk Hydro Group set foot in an agreement to sell its rolling business to the American investment company, KPS Capital Partners. Currently, Speira operates seven manufacturing facilities and an R&D centre across Germany and Norway. As per the announcement, in the next five years, Wipro will work to bolster the technology infrastructure and cybersecurity requirements of Speira as it undertakes a journey steered by a trident focused on sustainability, innovation, and...
According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s aluminium output in the first two months of 2022 totalled 6.33 million tonnes, which reflected a year-on-year downfall of 1.4 per cent. During the corresponding period last year, China’s aluminium production had amounted to 6.45 million tonnes. NBS data also showed that the daily average output in January and February combined was 107,288 tonnes, the highest since June 2021, according to Reuters' calculations. Daily output rose to its highest since mid-2021 despite production curbs in the heating season and during the Winter Olympics, as smelter hubs located away from the capital Beijing maintained operations. Also, production restrictions due to the energy crisis created no impact on the daily output. China had...
Three-month LME aluminium opened at US$3,497 per tonne on Monday, March 14, and closed at US$3,315 per tonne, down by US$165 per tonne or 4.74 per cent. On Monday, March 14, LME aluminium prices continued to decline for the second day in a row, based on the anticipation of stock release in the market. On March 13, Hydro confirmed 4000 tonnes of Russian aluminium to arrive at its Karmøy facility. On the said date, LME aluminium cash bid price fell by US$72 per tonne or 2.07 per cent to stand at US$3,398 per tonne, while LME aluminium official settlement price decreased by US$73 per tonne or 2.10 per cent to settle at US$3,399 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price plunged by US$89.5 per tonne and US$89 per tonne to peg at US$3,410 per tonne US$3,411 per tonne, respectively....
The communications programme funded by the drink cans manufacturers, the recycling industry and drink brands, Every Can Counts has made public its latest brand partnership with premium canned wine producer, Canned Wine Co., an innovative wine start-up focused on canning premium wines in perfect portion sizes from top producers in Europe. The partnership between the not-for-profit recycling programme and the canned wine company will see both brands work hand in hand to support, inspire and encourage drink can recycling amongst consumers in the UK. Canned Wine Co., which commenced its journey in 2019, was founded by the trio, Simon Rollings, Lisa Solovieva and Ben Franks intended to make exciting and high-quality wine more convenient and accessible to drinkers in portioned cans, whilst also...
