German aluminium producer Trimet has proposed a series of measures to address competition concerns over Alcoa’s proposed acquisition of South32’s alumina and bauxite assets . These include the sale of integrated bauxite-mining and alumina-refining assets in Brazil or Western Australia, changes to ownership links in Alumar and MRN, and greater transparency and independent monitoring of alumina price reporting. Trimet has also asked Brazil's competition regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), to block the deal, saying it would reduce the number of independent smelter-grade alumina suppliers in the country from three to two. The company said the combined entity could control approximately 51.8 per cent of Brazil's merchant alumina sales, leaving Glencore with the...
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...
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This week saw releases of quarterly and full-year operational and financial reports by some leading primary aluminium producing companies like Rusal from Russia, Alba from Bahrain, and NALCO from India. Rusal reported a 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in its aluminium production to 953,000 tonnes in Q4 2021, with Siberian smelters representing 93 per cent of the total output. In full-year, the output stood at 3.764 million tonnes, mostly unchanged compared to 3.755 million tonnes a year ago. To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/rusals-aluminium-production-in-4q2021-grows-by-only-1-q-o-q-to-953-000-tonnes-while-sales-volume-hike-8-to-989-000-tonnes-76601 Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world’s largest aluminium smelter outside China, reported the strongest financial...
On Friday, February 11, Mestron Holdings Bhd (MHB) signed a share sale and purchase agreement (SSPA) with Chua Nyok Chong (CNC) and Chua Boon Hong (CBH) for RM6 million to purchase 806,000 ordinary shares, or 10% of Winstar Aluminium Manufacturing Sdn Bhd's share capital. CNC has given MHB a call option to purchase additional 20% of Winstar Aluminium in two tranches for RM12 million within 365 days from and including the date of the SSPA, according to an exchange filing today. Mestron managing director Por Teong Eng stated that the synergistic acquisition will help the firm to expand its offering of value-added services for current and future clients. "We know it is vital to enhance our product and service offerings to our customers, so this acquisition will put us in a stronger position...
The LME aluminium benchmark price continued to trend up throughout the week from Monday, February 7, to Thursday, February 10, to reach a 14-year high. It started the week at US$3,148 per tonne, seeing a rise of US$61 per tonne or 1.98 per cent from the previous day. On Tuesday, February 8, the LME aluminium price surged by US$97 per tonne or 3.08 per cent to settle at US$3,245 per tonne. On February 9, the LME aluminium price inched up by only US$3 per tonne to stand at US$3,248 per tonne but jumped the next day by US$65 per tonne to US$3,313 per tonne. However, on Friday, February 11, the LME aluminium price slipped by US$113 per tonne to close the week at US$3,200 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price increased on Monday by above US$45 per tonne to peg at US$3,110.50 per...
A lot had happened in the downstream segment of the global aluminium sector. To begin with, AlCircle launched its 9th edition of e-Magazine, “Global Aluminium Foundry: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead in 2022". The magazine highlights the role of aluminium foundries in the production of aluminium products. The e-magazine also discusses how the Covid-19 epidemic has impacted aluminium foundries, resulting in significant production halts in the automobile sector, as well as a decline in demand for the metal. This was followed by the news of AT Systematization Bhd (ATS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT Precision Tooling Sdn Bhd (ATP), has signed a $10 million value contract with Maschinenfabrik Rieter AG (Rieter) for the production of aluminium profiles for Rieter's Card and Ringspun...
Access World is well-known in the aluminium trade and industry. With its historical expertise and presence in the refined metals industry, they provide global warehousing and logistics services to producers, traders and end-users. Being a key global warehousing and logistics provider in commodities, the combination of offering London Metals Exchange Warehousing and physical distribution provides an important supply chain support role and trade function for this market. Access World regularly ship and distribute refined aluminium, p1020 quality ingots, T-bars and sows but also special products like billets, plates and coils. They also support producers and smelters handling and storing raw materials for production like bauxite and alumina. Access World diversification in the Metals Supply...
Rusal reported a 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in its aluminium production to 953,000 tonnes in Q4 2021, with Siberian smelters representing 93 per cent of the total output. In full-year, Rusal’s aluminium production stood at 3.764 million tonnes, mostly unchanged compared to 3.755 million tonnes in a year ago. Production of Rusal’s aluminium foil and packaging came in at 27,700 tonnes in Q4 2021 versus 27,400 tonnes in Q3, while the output in the entire year totalled 109,000 tonnes, up by 5.2 per cent from 103,000 tonnes. Aluminium sales amounted to 989,000 tonnes in Q4 2021, reflecting an increase of 8.1 per cent from 915,000 tonnes in Q3 2021. In total 12 months, aluminium sales closed the year at 3.904 million tonnes, down by 0.5 per cent from 3.926 million tonnes. Value-added...
Within the next several months, an Austin-based maker of aluminium cans and beverage packaging will relocate into a bigger facility as part of a plan to considerably expand operations. This spring, American Canning LLC will relocate to Park 183's Building 5. The company's new headquarters will be a 154,786-square-foot warehouse in Southeast Austin. The new facility will be three times the size of American Canning's present facility, the 45,309-square-foot Building 2 at Park 183, and will allow the firm to produce up to 300 million cans per year. The company, which specialises in the machine manufacturing and distribution of blank aluminium cans, case trays, and other canning supplies, announced expansion plans in December, with the goal of starting production of 12-ounce cans in August...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market, aluminium billet inventories gained 17,600 tonnes or 7.04 per cent from Monday to close the week ended Thursday, February 10, at 267,500 tonnes. The inventories increased across each of the five regions in China as the overall demand for aluminium billets was sluggish. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: Foshan was the biggest contributor to the inventory growth on Thursday, with an increase of 9,100 tonnes or 7.23 per cent to 134,900 tonnes, followed by Wuxi, with a rise of 3,200 tonnes in inventories to 59,700 tonnes. In Huzhou and Nanchang, aluminium billet inventories grew by 3,000 tonnes or 1,900 tonnes from Monday to stand at 26,000 tonnes and 24,500 tonnes, respectively....
Hindalco Industries Limited has further expanded its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices, in line with a continuous increase in the global aluminium benchmark price. With effect from Friday, February 11, Hindalco’s aluminium ingot price has come in at INR 283,750 per tonne, up by INR 4,600 per tonne from INR 288,350 per tonne on the previous day. Hindalco has also raised its aluminium wire rod and billets prices by INR 4,600 per tonne on February 11. While the former price has pegged at INR 294,850 per tonne versus INR 288,350 per tonne on February 9, the latter is standing at INR 297,850 per tonne compared to INR 291,350 per tonne. Hindalco links its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices to the three-month future of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange, which after...
After the third quarter, analysts kept their 'buy' calls on Hindalco Industries Ltd., noting a surge in aluminium prices, a shift in focus from deleveraging to growth potential, and the addition of Brownfield smelting capacity. In the quarter ended December, India's largest aluminium manufacturer saw its net profit jump 7.5 percent sequentially. Its operational income, on the other hand, fell throughout that time. Novelis, a subsidiary, had its quarterly Ebitda drop as well. Hindalco's stock rose as much as 1.21% before falling down to 0.58% higher at 10:04 a.m. on Friday. According to Bloomberg statistics, 27 of the 28 analysts following the business recommend a 'buy,' while one suggests a 'sell.' The 12-month consensus price goal suggests a 13% gain. The Aditya Birla Group's metals...
The leading aluminium shipbuilder of Britain, Wight Shipyard Co. has declared an all-share merger with the multinational shipbuilder OCEA to develop a combined group to capitalise on the fast ferry and offshore renewable energy markets opportunities. However, the deal is lined up to accomplish in March 2022 and The Wight Shipyard Co.to emerge nearly double in size, securing and providing significant job opportunities at the East Cowes, IOW, UK yard. Peter Morton, the CEO of Wight Shipyard Co., while speaking on the merger commented, “This is a transformational deal for The Wight Shipyard Co. and the Isle of Wight, confirming the resurgence of the shipbuilding industry in the United Kingdom.” The British shipbuilder, The Wight Shipyard Co. has expeditiously developed a significant...
According to China customs data, the country’s aluminium foil exports from January to December 2021 reach a record high of 1.34 million tonnes, up by 7.73 per cent year-on-year. The previous high was 1.30 million tonnes in 2019. The annual export value of aluminium foil also reached a new high of $5.14 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 34.2 per cent. The previous highest level was $4.30 billion in 2018. Customs data also showed that China’s export value of aluminium foil accounted for 1.48 per cent of the total export value of country’s all aluminium products. The year 2021 witnessed multiple hurdles like the slowdown of China’s economic growth, sluggish market demand, frequent pandemic and natural disasters, dual consumption of energy consumption, frequent power cuts, supply...
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), United States imported 235,000 tonnes of US aluminium crude metals and alloys in November 2021 from Canada, showing a month-on-month escalation of 2,000 per tonne or 0.85%. In October 2021, 233,000 tonnes of US aluminium crude metals and alloys were imported from Canada, showing a hike of 32,000 tonnes from 201,000 tonnes in September 2020. On a year-on-year calculation, US aluminium crude metals and alloys imported from Canada in November 2021 moved up by 78,000 tonnes or 49.68% from 157,000 tonnes in November 2020. From January to November, the imported aluminium crude metals and alloys imported from Canada registered at 2,330,000 tonnes. For the same period last the amount closed at 2,140,000 tonnes. According to the data shared by the...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world’s largest aluminium smelter outside China, has reportedly launched its four-quarter and full-year 2021 financial results, whereby it has declared a profit of BD181.2 million (US$481.9 million) for 4Q2021. That was an increase of 466 per cent from a profit of BD32 million (US$85.1 million) during the same period last year. Gross profit for 4Q2021 was BD215.5 million (US$573.1 million), which reflected a rise of 259 per cent from BD60.1 million (US$159.8 million). Alba also reported that its total comprehensive income during Q4 2021 was BD183million (US$486.7 million), a surge of 455 per cent from BD32.9 million (US$87.8 million) a year ago. For the full-year of 2021, Alba has reported a profit of BD451.9 million (US$1,202 million) in contrast to...
On 10 th February 2022, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) made public that it will commence construction of a pilot plant where bauxite residue, a waste material from alumina refining would be transformed into soil products that can be utilized for greening and other eco-friendly purposes in the UAE. However, the metal company stated, “EGA’s pilot plant, which will be in Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi, is expected to be operational in 2023.” EGA’s pilot plant is conceptualized to be an elemental in the world, which follows five years of research & development (R&D) by EGA in association with The University of Queensland’s School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. The revolutionary procedure transposes bauxite residue in its entirety in hours into environmentally and plant-friendly soil. As per the...
After a jump in stocks raised the chance that supplies are not as tight as anticipated, aluminium prices dipped from their highest levels in more than 13 years on Thursday. On Thursday, February 10, LME aluminium cash (bid) price had increased by US$66 per tonne or by 2.03% to score at US$3,312per tonne. LME aluminium official settlement price had also soared up by US$65 per tonne or by 2% to peg at US$3,313 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price registered at US$3,286 per tonne and US$3,287 per tonne, for the same day. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price settled at US$2,863 per tonne and US$2,868 per tonne. LME aluminium opening stock totalled at 880975 tonnes. Live warrants and Cancelled warrant came in at 595150 tonnes and 285825 tonnes. LME aluminium...
The Russian aluminium giant, Rusal has developed an optimised 5xxx series aluminium alloy for further anodising and commenced its production at the Bratsk Aluminium Smelter (BrAZ). The Technical Directorate of Rusal masterminded a general assessment of the alloy and organised its mass production. Moreover, the production of optimised 5005A alloy slabs will be launched, used by rolling mills to anodise coils and sheets. Presently, these products are only available to import, while the production of the new alloy in industrial volumes will provide Russian consumers with the 5xxx series, facilitating the development of high-processed products including facing panels, spotlights, and electrolytic capacitors. However, the domestic market demand for the 5xxx series alloy is estimated to be...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium have surged by 84,000 tonnes over the past three days across eight major consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, to come in at 950,000 tonnes as of Thursday, February 10. On Monday, February 7, the inventories stood at 866,000 tonnes, compared to 726,000 tonnes on January 27. Last week, on February 3, the SMM market was closed for the Chinese New Year holiday. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: Primary aluminium inventories in Wuxi have soared by 48,000 tonnes to come in at 333,000 tonnes, followed by the surge of 23,000 tonnes in Gongyi to hover around 140,000 tonnes. In Nanhai, primary aluminium inventories have increased...
