The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) and The Aluminum Association, Inc. (AAI) on Wednesday announced that domestic consumption of aluminum extrusions in the United States and Canada totaled an estimated 4.05 billion pounds in 2012, an increase of 5.8 percent over the revised 2011 total of 3.83 billion pounds.
Building and construction continue to be the largest market segment with domestic shipments of 1.39 billion pounds, or 34.3 percent of the domestic market for extrusions. Shipments in this market segment grew 3.0 percent in 2012 compared to 2011. Doors and windows represent 32.6 percent of this market segment's total shipments but showed little growth in 2012. Shipments to curtain wall, store fronts, and entrances represent 30.3 percent of the market sector and these end uses increased by 3.7 percent over 2011.
Transportation is the second largest market segment, totaling 1.18 billion pounds in 2012 and representing 29.0 percent of total domestic shipments. Shipments to transportation end uses increased by 9.0 percent over 2011. Passenger cars, trucks, and buses account for 44.8 percent of shipments within this segment, followed by trailers and semi-trailers at 32.4 percent.
Other market sectors include consumer durables, machinery and equipment, electrical, and others. These sectors represent 10.5, 12.4, 11.0, and 2.8 percent of total domestic shipments, respectively. Exports represent 6.0 percent of total industry shipments.
The Associations note that figures on shipments and end uses for 2001 to 2011 have been revised significantly. The revisions are based on extensive research and efforts by members of both Associations, and the process included a cooperative effort by billet suppliers and extruders to develop more accurate estimates of shipments and end uses. Processed through the Statistics Department at the Aluminum Association, members conducted blind surveys to develop total estimates for non-participating extruders. Additionally, the Aluminum Association conducted a billet shipments survey, the results of which supported the conclusion that previous estimates of the size of the aluminum extrusion market had been understated.
“Going forward, we plan to conduct annual surveys on billet shipments and recovery rates to determine total shipments by the aluminum extrusion industry. The results of existing surveys, such as the AEC annual end use survey, will be used to benchmark shipments to major markets and specific end uses,” said AEC President Rand Baldwin.
“We are striving to continuously improve our estimates and both Associations encourage additional companies to participate in the monthly, quarterly and annual surveys, so that we can produce more accurate figures about the industry and its value to the North American economy,” said Tim Gill Vice President, Business Information and Statistics for The Aluminum Association.
