Aluminium Billet Production to rise at a Growth Rate of 4.4 Per Cent

The boom in the construction sector is rippling into the aluminium extrudes market for various applications, giving a huge boost to the aluminium billet market. The growing automotive and industrial sectors in Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have expanded the market for aluminium profiles and this superior demand has, in turn, enhanced the production capacities of existing extrusion companies.

Strategic Assessment of Aluminium Billets Market in Selected Far East Countries, finds that the current market volume for aluminium billets is 960,545 MT. It is expected to grow to 1,135,656 MT at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4 per cent from 2010 to 2016 in the selected countries of Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.

"Regional extruders import aluminium billets from China, India and the Middle East, indicating an eager end-user market for billet suppliers," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Chandrakumar BJG. "The absence of primary aluminium smelters and secondary billet producers' minimal production volumes makes the market an attractive destination for exporters."

The end product (extruded profiles) is also exported to various regions such as Asia, a few EU-27 countries and the Middle East.

With some ambitious plans for setting up smelter plants in the selected Far East countries falling through due to various environmental & power supply issues, there are abundant opportunities for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) smelters and billet suppliers from the Indian subcontinent to export to this region. Suppliers will be especially pleased to note that billet's demand-supply gap in select Far East countries is approximately 260,000 MT.

Regional ministries are urging the development of downstream industries as a value addition to the economy. This is a smart move considering the billet imports to these countries will be hindered by duties, which will have a direct bearing on the pricing – a key purchase factor among aluminium extruders.

Major extruders have in-house billet casting facility which can be expanded to sell billets to local extruders that import billets. Secondary billet producers (through scrap / ingot remelting route) will definitely have a tighter control on their production costs, despite their production volumes being minimal.

"Most extruders have extrusion press capacity designed for 4", 5" and 8" billets," notes Chandrakumar BJG. "This allows the extruders to focus on sourcing billets on cut-to-length basis and applying aluminium alloys in building and construction, consumer durables and simple automotive profiles."