A major police operation in India’s Uttar Pradesh has exposed an inter-district network allegedly involved in stealing electricity transformers and selling their internal metal components, including aluminium wire and copper binding, to scrap dealers. Police in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, have busted an inter-district transformer theft gang and arrested eight people, including a scrap dealer accused of purchasing stolen materials. The operation led to the recovery of aluminium wire, copper binding, transformer coils and cash allegedly generated through the sale of stolen electrical components. The gang reportedly operated across several districts, including Kanpur Dehat, Unnao, Lucknow and Fatehpur. A joint team comprising Chaubeypur police, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit and West...
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,...
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According to the data shown by the General Administration of Customs, China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products decreased in April by 11.4 per cent over the year to 441,000 tonnes. In April 2019, China’s exports were around 491,274 tonnes. In March 2020, China had exported 518,600 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, down 5 per cent from 544,530 tonnes during the same period last year. This means the year-on-year decline expanded in April. Month-on-month, the exports plunged by 15 per cent. In the first three months, China’s total exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products had come in at nearly 1.19 million tonnes, which in April grew to 1.63 million tonnes. Compared to the last year, China’s total exports in the first four months of the...
Canada’s exports of crude metal and alloys to the US fell by 3.97% or 6.000 tonnes year-on-year to 145,000tonnes in February 2020. On a month-on-month comparison, exports registered a decrease of 31.92% from 213,000 tonnes, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. Canada exported 344,000 tonnes of crude metal and alloys to the US in the first two months of 2020, from 270,000 tonnes exported in the first two months of 2019. That was up 27.41% year-on-year. Canada’s exports of total aluminium (crude metal and alloys, aluminium semi-finished products, scrap) stood at 150,000 tonnes in February, a decrease of 23.08% year-on-year and 31.82% month-on-month. Aluminium exports amounted to 356,000 tonnes in the first two months of this year, a decrease of...
A 4,000 tonnes per year aluminium alloy component project of Chongqing Hanlir Machinery Manufacturing will reportedly commence soon as its Environmental Impact Assessment Report has been approved and published by the government of Jiangjin District, Chongqing, on April 29. The construction of the project was over in November last year, and the public announcement period is between April 29 and May 14. The total investment required for the project was RMB 50 million and an additional RMB 500,000 in environmental protection. The project is designed to produce die-casting parts and machining parts. So, the major products to be produced at this plant include automobile water pump, engine cover, engine oil pan, steering gear housing, spare parts for new energy vehicles, and other aluminium...
The Republic of Colombia is a country largely situated in the north of South America, with territories in North America. The economy of Colombia is the fourth largest in Latin America as measured by gross domestic product. Colombia has experienced a historic economic boom over the last decade. Petroleum is Colombia's main export, making over 45% of Colombia's exports. Manufacturing makes up nearly 12% of Colombia's exports and grows at a rate of over 10% a year. Modern industries like shipbuilding, electronics, automobile, tourism, construction, and mining, grew dramatically during the 2000s and 2010s. The major trading nation for Columbia’s Aluminium bar rods & profiles has been with multiple countries like Belgium, Chile, China, Ecuador, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Panama,...
Inventories of aluminium billet in China increased over the five-day Labour Day holiday, after eight consecutive weeks of decline. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China stood at 132,100 tonnes as of May 6, an increase of 2,700 tonnes from Thursday April 30 The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: Inventories of aluminium billet in Foshan, Huzhou, and Nanchang came in at 72,300 tonnes, 16,000 tonnes, and 6,600 on Wednesday, 06 May 2020, an increase of 5,200 tonnes, 2,000 tonnes, and 1,400 tonnes from April 30. But the stock in Wuxi and Changzhou declined by 3,700 tonnes and 2,170 tonnes to stand at 21,600 tonnes and 15,600 tonnes. The prices of...
According to the data shown by the United States Geological Survey, the country in February 2020 exported 24,100 tonnes of aluminium plates, sheets and bars to Mexico, in contrast to 26,100 tonnes exported in January 2020. This represents the fact that the country’s aluminium semi-finished exports to Mexico declined in February by 2,000 tonnes or 7.66 per cent over the month. In December 2019, the US aluminium semis exports to Mexico were 21,600 tonnes, whereas in November, were 25,500 tonnes, meaning the US exports to Mexico increased by 21 per cent in January following a decrease of 15.29 per cent in December 2019. The United States total aluminium plates, sheets and bars exports to Mexico during January-February 2020 stood at 50,200 tonnes, up 3,100 tonnes or 6.6 per cent from the...
Hydro announced that its business area Extruded Solutions will shut down Hydro Precision Tubing Remscheid GmbH (PT Remscheid) in Germany. The basis for continued operation is not present. The Remscheid plant, which employs 129 people, is estimated to close by end of December 2020. The facility serves the HVAC market, but volumes in this segment alone have not been enough to make the plant profitable “Hydro PT Remscheid has made losses for the last two consecutive years and is estimated to make a loss also in 2020. The long-term market outlook is negative for PT Remscheid, as most products go into the combustion engine market where demand for Remscheid products is declining,” Hydro said. The facility remains committed to the precision tubing markets. It will continue a strong footprint in...
Bridgnorth-based castings specialist Grainger & Worrall has received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2020 for its pioneering progress in developing “Next Generation” castings. According to the report, this is the third Queen’s Award received by Grainger and Worrall. The award acknowledges the company’s expertise and technology in casting design & simulation, materials development, digital sand printing, and dimensional & integrity validation to deliver the best castings service in the world. Grainger & Worrall CEO Matthew Grainger said: “We are exceptionally pleased to be recognised by the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, especially as it is the third time we have received such an award and underlines our ongoing commitment to be a global leader within our...
Hammond Electronics, a global force in the enclosures market with facilities in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and South East Asia, has extended the variety of popular 1455 standard family enclosures by adding new 1455F flanged extruded aluminium enclosures. The 14555F features a completely new extrusion that has a flat base with integral mounting flanges. The flanges extend beyond the body of the unit and have four notches to accept securing screws for mounting the units to a flat surface such as a wall, bulkhead or machine. The new enclosure is available in two sizes 80 x 54 x 23mm and 120 x 54 x 23mm and in clear and black anodised finish. More sizes will be released in the coming months. Both the launch sizes are designed to accept 50mm wide and 1.6mm thick PCBs with...
The US imports of semi-finished products (plates, sheets, bars, etc.) decreased 81.36% year-on-year to stand at 22,000 tonnes in February 2020. Imports were 118,000 tonnes in February 2019, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from the US Geological Survey. Semi-finished imports dropped 22.54% from January imports of 28,400 tonnes and 77.04% or 73,800 tonnes from December’s imports of 95,800 tonnes. In the first two months of 2020, the US imported 50,400 tonnes of semi-finished products as compared to 253,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2019, which indicates a 80% decrease year-on-year. On the export side, exports of semi-finished products (plates, sheets, bars, etc.) dropped 6% year-on-year, but up 0.59% month-on-month. Exports came in at 68,600 tonnes in February...
Impol Group, Slovenia's producer of flat rolled and extruded aluminium products, reported an operating profit of 30.5 million euro in 2019, a drop of 29 per cent. The company’s consolidated net profit stood at 23.8 million euro ($25.9 million) in 2019, registering a decline of 35 per cent. Impol said in a filing with the Ljubljana bourse on Wednesday that EBITDA decreased by 15% to 50.4 million euro. The Group’s nets sales revenue declined on lower aluminium prices and sales volume. Revenue for 2019 came in at 683 million euro, down 6.1 per cent. The group, which employed 2,393 people at the end of December, was the fifth largest exporter in Slovenia in 2019. The group said the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak are yet unknown in its operations in 2020.
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the aluminium billet inventories have extended decline over the week ending Thursday, April 30, as brisk consumption has lowered stocks in Wuxi, Huzhou, and Changzhou. SMM data shows the stocks of 6063 aluminium billet have plunged by 16,3000 tonnes across five major consumption areas in China, marking the eighth consecutive week of decline. The billet inventories are thus, currently standing at 129,400 tonnes, following the decline of 19,300 tonnes last week. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: As the chart above shows, the inventories in Wuxi, Changzhou, Huzhou, and Nanchang have decreased by 15,180 tonnes, 5,080 tonnes, 2,000 tonnes, and 300 tonnes to stand respectively at 25,300...
The U.S. has proposed rules to track aluminium imports more minutely, in a way that could address industry demands to barrier Chinese supply that evades tariffs. The Donald Trump administration’s import tariff is imposed towards aiming to protect against the excess foreign supply of the metal, concerns have persevered that aluminium from the world’s biggest producer, China, is still engulfing into the market. Some Chinese supplies are first sent to another nation that is free from duty. It’s then melted and reformed before being shipped again, concealing its true origin. Criticism about surplus metal entering the U.S. via such transhipment and re-labelling to sidestep trade laws has preceded the Trump administration. As per the proposed new U.S. rules, importers will be required to...
The Salzburger Aluminium Group (SAG), the makers of aluminium tanks for commercial vehicles and producer of aluminium components, headquartered in Austria, is strongly unified into the international supply chains of OEMs, and therefore the close down on customer side also made it necessary to temporarily shut down the SAG plants in Austria, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Slovakia. The sites in Mexico were not only affected by the shutdown. The re-start of the production by the European OEMs is now also activating the resumption of SAG. In close cooperation with customers, the plant in France has already resumed their production. The other sites will follow at the beginning of May. The long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with the major global commercial vehicle manufacturers...
Constellium reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020. Revenue stood at €1.4 billion, down 6% year-on-year due to lower shipments and lower metal prices, partially offset by improved price and mix across all three segments. Shipments were 393 thousand tons, a decrease of 5% due to lower shipments in all three segments. Net loss stood at €31 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 9% YoY to €147 million on improved results in the Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products and the Automotive Structures and Industry segments. Jean-Marc Germain, Constellium’s Chief Executive Officer said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has introduced a new set of challenges for Constellium, but we remain confident in our ability to navigate through the crisis. Our first priority is the health and safety...
The Japanese domestic car production in March’20 has declined against a year earlier, squeezed by sluggish global and domestic sales due to the impact of the Covid-19 rife. The domestic production of the country's eight-car manufacturers has shown drop by 8% against the preceding year to around 791,000 in March. The March output showed an 8% recovery from February when China's strict quarantine measures against Covid-19 disrupted supplies of auto parts. Large production drop has been declared by Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, and Honda, as they pressed down the country's overall car output in March. Smaller producers Daihatsu, Subaru, and Mitsubishi all increased their March output by 10-14% each from the previous year, whereas Suzuki posted steady output in March. Japan's domestic car sales...
ACHENBACH BUSCHHÜTTEN, specialist and world market leader for aluminium foil rolling mills and foil slitting machines, was ordered by LOTTE ALUMINIUM, subsidiary of the multinational LOTTE group which is the fifth-largest company in South Korea, to establish a new Greenfield production plant in Hungary. There, thinnest aluminium foils as a sophisticated carrier material for rechargeable batteries are produced highly productive with Achenbach machinery in the near future. Handshake between Cho Hyuncheol, President & CEO LOTTE ALUMINIUM and André E. Barten, President & CEO ACHENBACH BUSCHHÜTTEN In the first expansion stage the scope of supply and performance comprise three OPTIMILL Foil Rolling Mills automated with OPTIROLL Control Systems and each run with a SUPERSTACK Rolling Oil...
Aluminium imports by the US for consumption stood at 563,000 tonnes in January-February 2020, down 39.79% from 935,000 tonnes in January-February 2019, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from the US Geological Survey. In February, the US imported 238,000 tonnes of aluminium, a decrease of 46.76% from 447,000 tonnes in February 2019. The US imports of crude metal and alloys decreased 26.76% year-on-year to stand at 208,000 tonnes in February 2020. Crude metal and alloys import were 284,000 tonnes in February 2019. On a month on month basis, imports dropped 40% from 347,000 tonnes. In the first two months of 2020, the US imported 494,000 tonnes of crude metal and alloys as compared to 583,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2019, which indicates a 15.27% decrease...
