Ford has produced more than 5,000 large aluminium unicastings at its Shelbyville Technical Center as it advances manufacturing preparations for the Fathom midsize electric truck, scheduled to launch in 2027. The castings are being used for process testing and prototype assembly at the company's Louisville Assembly Plant. The Fathom will feature two large aluminium unicastings that replace 146 individual structural parts, significantly simplifying the vehicle's architecture. Ford says the approach reduces vehicle mass and improves overall energy efficiency, while introducing a different method of assembling vehicles through its new Universal Production System. The two large structures form the front and rear sections of the vehicle. By consolidating numerous components into fewer castings,...
AMAG Group reported around a 59 per cent increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to EUR 181 million (USD 202 million) in the first nine months of 2026, compared with EUR 114 million (USD 127 million) in the same period last year. Revenue rose 16.4 per cent to EUR 1.3 billion (USD 1.4 billion) from EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in the first three quarters of 2025. Net income after taxes increased about 142 per cent to EUR 82 million (USD 91 million), up from EUR 34 million (USD 38 million). The Austrian aluminium producer attributed its performance to strong operations at its Ranshofen site, higher shipment volumes in the Rolling Division, and attractive market conditions for its Canadian aluminium smelter interest, Alouette. Cost-efficiency...
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According to a recent report, Canada will roll out its planned multibillion-dollar counter-tariffs on American aluminium products within the next few days. The news came after officials in Ottawa and at the Canadian embassy in Washington confirmed that the previously threatened retaliatory tariffs would go into effect this Wednesday, September 16. Following the US President Donald Trump’s announcement of relaying the 10 per cent tariffs on Canada’s aluminium imports early last month, Deputy Prime Ministry Chrystia Freeland declared to hit back with “dollar for dollar” matching tariffs on American aluminium products. Finance department officials made a list of products that the government was considering hitting with counter-tariffs and asked stakeholders to weigh in. The list included...
Chinese renewable energy group Envision is now eyeing France to build a battery factory to cater to the growing electric vehicle market, according to the news reported by French newspaper Journal du Dimanche (JDD) on Sunday, September 13. The company, which has battery production plants in Japan, Britain, China, and the United States, has identified a dozen potential locations in France for the future factory. Quoting Sylvie Ourdiel, an international director at Envision, the French newspaper reported that Envision group planned to invest hundreds of million euros in a new factory expecting it to open in late 2023 and eventually create around a thousand jobs. Sylvie Ourdiel said Britain’s exit from the European Union changed the landscape and that an extra plant needed to supply countries...
On Monday, September 14, aluminium alloys (ADC12) price has extended its growth by RMB 100 per tonne from RMB 14,200 per tonne to RMB 14,300 per tonne, despite the plummet in A00 aluminium ingot price, according to the Shanghai Metals Market. The average aluminium alloys (ADC12) prices are expected to range between RMB 14,200 per tonne and RMB 14,400 per tonne. In the east and south, the price has increased by RMB 100 per tonne as well to stand at RMB 14,300 per tonne and RMB 14,100 per tonne, respectively, while that in the southwest has inched up by RMB 50 per tonne to come in at RMB 14,050 per tonne. Aluminium alloy (A380) price has also increased by RMB 100 per tonne to RMB 15,200 per tonne on September 14, with average prices expected to range between RMB 15,100 per tonne and RMB...
ISGEC Heavy Engineering, an Indian heavy engineering firm has won an INR 126.50-crore order for a semi-dry circulating fluidised bed scrubbers (FGD) system from Hindalco Industries. The FGD system will be used at one of the Hindalco's 150 MW units at Mahan Aluminium at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. The project was won through a competitive bidding process against other technology provider firm. ISGEC said: “The wide scope of the project includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, civil works, construction, commissioning and performance guarantee testing for the complete semi-dry flue gas desulphurisation system package. The schedule for completion of the project is 22 months.” ISGEC Heavy Engineering is a diversified heavy engineering company engaged in manufacturing and project...
According to Tesmanian and Reuters report, the new Tesla car factory in Brandenburg, Germany, may source eight Gigapress Machines from IDRA, specialised in diecasting machines, for the production of a single module aluminium diecasting. The single module aluminium diecasting will replace 70 components glued and riveted into the car’s rear underbody for Tesla’s new Model Y, said the company’s CEO Elon Musk. This is just a start of the new automation, with the vehicle’s front parts and other big structure parts to follow. “Will be amazing to see it in operation! Biggest casting machine ever made. Will make the rear body in a single piece, including crash rails,” Musk communicated over social media on 13th August. However, neither Tesla nor IDRA wanted to comment on the current development....
The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) of India has successfully conducted a test on 7 th September of its wholly indigenous Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) which has been under development for well over a decade. HSTDV took-off aboard an Agni missile booster rocket from the APJ Abdul Kalam testing range on Wheeler Island off Balasore, Odisha. The rocket reached an altitude of 30 kilometres (about 98,425 feet) when the HSDTV separated, its air intake opened, which then automatically triggered the firing of the air-breathing scramjet or supersonic ramjet. The combustion prolonged for more than 20 seconds, with the vehicle achieving a cruise velocity of Mach 6 (about 7400 km/h at this altitude), the main criteria to deem the test a success. DRDO said: “The...
Hindalco Industries is well-positioned for a bounce back in the second half of the current financial year (FY21). “We should be back to pre-Covid levels in the second half of FY21," Hindalco Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla told shareholders at the company’s 61st annual general meeting held in Mumbai. Birla said: “The Indian economy delivered subdued performance last year with FY20 GDP (gross domestic product) growth falling to 4.2 per cent. We witnessed contraction in the first quarter (Q1) on account of widespread shutdowns. Despite this slump in Q1, activity levels are gradually normalising and I remain confident that India’s long-term growth potential remains intact despite the setback.” Hindalco’s upstream plants are operating at near full capacity with all logistics infrastructure...
Thyssenkrupp Aerospace has made public a three-year extension to its contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Canada Aerospace Inc. (MHICA). The agreement which commenced in 2018, thyssenkrupp Aerospace conducts material for aluminium wing planks, including procuring, receiving, inspecting, and storing planks directly from the mills at its facility in Montreal. The material is drilled and tapped on demand for just-in-time delivery. Jürgen Funke, Chairman and CEO of thyssenkrupp Aerospace North America, said: “The continuation of our contract with MHICA is a sign of their confidence and trust in our relationship. Under our ‘Materials as a Service’ approach, we reduce the complexity of MHICA’s supply chain with access to global markets, custom supply chain solutions, material processing,...
Shanghai Metals Market data shows aluminium billet inventories in China have gained 3,400 tonnes over the week ending on Thursday, September 10, on increased arrivals of stocks to warehouses. According to the data, inventories are standing at 63,600 tonnes versus 60,200 tonnes last Thursday, September 3. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: Aluminium billet inventories in Nanchang have seen the highest rise of 1,150 tonnes over the week to stand at 13,200 tonnes, as of Thursday, September 10. In Foshan and Huzhou, inventories have increased by 1,100 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes, respectively, to come in at 17,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes, while that in Changzhou and Wuxi have grown by 340 tonnes and 160 tonnes to hover at...
Maine Governor Janet Mills, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, and Vermont Governor Phil Scott called on President Donald Trump to reverse his decision to reimpose a 10% tariff on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada. They said this would hurt manufacturers and supply chain businesses in northern New England. “Businesses, big and small, have built complex, integrated supply chains in aerospace, information technology, construction materials, food systems and more,” the governors said in a letter sent to the President. “We strongly believe that this stance regarding Canadian aluminum will only hurt American manufacturers. It is time to look at solutions to elevate commerce on both sides of the border and not penalize key industries.” Trump’s tariff decision will raise...
According to a recent report, Capral Limited, Australia’s largest extruder and distributor of aluminium products, has joined the Australian Aluminium Council. The news came after the latter announced that it welcomed Capral as a new member, highlighting the growing importance of end-to-end domestic supply chains and the ability to add value to the nation’s natural resources. Capral is the Council’s first new member in a decade and is expected to enhance the Council’s downstream manufacturing representation. Executive Director of the Council Marghanita Johnson said: “The COVID crisis has reinforced the advantages of being able to value-add within a domestic supply chain – from Australian bauxite, to Australian alumina, to Australian aluminium and on to Australian extruders like Capral.” He...
India has initiated an anti-dumping probe in the imports of certain flat-rolled products of aluminium originating in or exported from China based on a complaint by Hindalco Industries, alleging injury to the domestic industry due to the dumped goods. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) will probe the dumping from FY17 to December 2019. DGTR has communicated that: “The applicant has also claimed that imports are causing a threat of material injury, considering the significant increase in imports as compared to the base year, significant surplus capacities in the subject country, the high export orientation of producers in the subject country and the ability to scale up production in a short span.” It added: “All these factors go on to show that imports are causing a threat of...
According to figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), aluminium foil deliveries were down 4.5% in Q2, compared to 2019. Total deliveries came in at 234,000 tonnes. In H1 2020, aluminium foil production declined 2.0% to 476,000 tonnes. “Aluminium foil deliveries inside Europe stayed relatively strong thanks to more demand for some gauges used in packaging application, during the current pandemic. Exports continued to decline due to lockdowns in many economies and disrupted supply chains,” EAFA said. Domestic deliveries of thinner gauges, mainly used for flexible packaging and household foils, increased marginally (0.3%) in Q2. European deliveries of all gauges in H1 rose 0.5% over last year. Overall there was a small drop in total deliveries for thinner gauges,...
According to the latest data shared by the US Geological Survey, the United States aluminium plates, sheets and bars imports rebounded to 74,500 tonnes in June 2020. In May, the country imported 68,500 tonnes, declining by 6,000 tonnes from April. The US imports in June saw an increase of 8.76 per cent month-on-month since the last hike in April from 23,300 tonnes in March to 74,500 tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, the US aluminium plates, sheets and bars imports in June 2020 shrank by 43.13 per cent from 131,000 tonnes. The United States aluminium semi-finished products imports in the first half of 2020 totalled 488,000 tonnes, down from 808,000 tonnes during the same period last year. In the second quarter, the United States aluminium plates, sheets and bars imports stood at 217,500...
The researchers from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed metal with unique ductility during experimenting on high-performance Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). However, the outcome of the research made it clear that the ductility is three times higher than specified in the standard. The growth of WAAM productivity steered to the discovery of the unique properties of aluminium. Elongation of specimens during tensile tests of produced metal increased from 12% to 41% compared to its standard properties for the same chemical composition. This denotes that the material will be able to execute prolong with the same loading conditions. The developed WAAM technology with higher process rates helps to achieve better material performance. Oleg Panchenko,...
Robots are not efficient enough for Tesla’s new car factory in Germany, which plans to replace hundreds of them with giant aluminium casting machines to build simpler chassis parts, a person familiar with the matter brought up this information. The electric carmaker, Tesla, has struggled to increase production volumes through hi-tech automation and was forced to fly in a new production line from Germany to Nevada in 2018 after robots failed to coordinate seamlessly at the US factory. Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla said: “For the new Model Y, we will replace 70 components glued and riveted into the car’s rear under-body with a single module made using an aluminium casting machine.” “That’s just the start of a new automation drive, with the vehicle’s front module and other parts to come”, the source...
The US imports of crude metal and alloys declined by 16.83% year-on-year to stand at 262,000 tonnes in June 2020. Crude metal and alloys import were at 315,000 tonnes in June 2019. On a month-on-month comparison, imports reduced by 17.09% from 316,000 tonnes in May, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. In the first six months of 2020, the US imported 1.83 million tonnes of crude metal and alloys as compared to 1.81 million tonnes in the first six months of 2019, which indicates an increase of 1.1% year-on-year. On the export side, the US exported 15,900 tonnes of crude metal and alloys in June 2020, from 19,000 tonnes exported in June 2019, down16% year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, the exports rose 75.5% from 9,060 tonnes. In H1 2020,...
According to a Reuters report, China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products stood at 395,424 tonnes in August, the highest in four months. The exports registered a decline of 11% from August 2019. Unwrought aluminium and aluminium products export came in at 3.13 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2020. That was down 20% on the year. The decline was due to weak overseas because of the coronavirus pandemic. China turned net aluminium importer in July for the first time since 2009. Rise in China’s aluminium imports in July 2020 versus decrease in exports is seen as an inversion in trade flows due to the disconnect between Chinese market, which is in full recovery mode from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rest of the world that is still struggling to get back on its...
