AL Circle Analysis: US scrap imports hit 580kt as China slips 3.2%, who drives aluminium recycling?
Aluminium scrap is no longer a side story in the metal’s market. Rather, aluminium’s next standoff is over scrap. As US imports surge 37 per cent while China’s purchases decline, manufacturers in Europe and India are confronting a common challenge of securing affordable, reliable raw materials. With recycling rates, trade barriers and low-carbon production reshaping market, the global industry faces a critical question: who will control the metal that powers its circular future? Join the fourth edition of the webinar "Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours" by Jorge Dyszel. A 1.1-billion-tonne stockpile: US stocks up, China steps back, India asks for access The US imported 580,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap worth USD 2.07 billion in H1 2026 , with Canada accounting for 63.62...
A should-cost analysis of an aluminium tower furnace in India: Comparing the economics of LPG, PNG, and electric energy sources
In precision non-ferrous casting and high-volume die-casting operations, thermal energy conversion represents one of the largest controllable operating expenses. In modern aluminium foundries, where margins are squeezed by primary metal price fluctuations and stringent customer cost breakdowns, even a modest INR 1–2/kg variance in liquid metal melting cost can translate into tens of lakhs of rupees in annual cost differences. A rigorous, transparent should-cost benchmark is therefore essential for procurement teams, foundry managers and strategic sourcing leaders. This analysis examines a baseline should-cost model for a 1,000 kg/hour aluminium shaft or tower furnace in an industrial foundry. It compares liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), piped natural gas (PNG) and electric energy across...
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Sonaca 200 Aircraft, Belgium, gets an airframe made of semi-stressed aluminium
Sonaca 200 is a two-seater, single-engine aircraft designed by Sonaca Aircraft for pilot training and leisure flights. It is the first aircraft assembled in Belgium, to be exhibited at the Aero Friedrichshafen show in April 2016. The airframe of Sonaca 200 is constructed with corrosion-resistant, semi-stressed aluminium structure. The fuselage, wing and tail of the aircraft are built using aluminium alloy. The main landing gear features glass fibre with powerful shock absorption, and is designed for use on unprepared and grass runways. The aircraft is designed and developed for the general aviation market and is currently undergoing tests in Belgium and other neighbouring countries for type certifications.
JNARDDC to develop aviation grade aluminium alloys for IAF
The Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) is working towards development of aviation grade alloys for the Indian Air Force (maintenance command) as a part of the indigenization process and the 'Make in India' initiative of the government. It will also be setting up an aluminium extrusion plant in the centre. JNARDDC director Anupam Agnihotri, during the 27th foundation day programme of the centre on Friday said that there are many parts in aircraft which are made from special aluminium alloys. India is largely dependant on impoprts for sourcing these metal products. If these parts could be made locally for replacing the wear and tear caused in the aircraft it would substantially reduce the maintenance cost of any aircraft by about 15 per cent. "And this is...
China Zhongwang 2016 Q1 net profit reaches RMB604 mln
China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries “the Group”, a world’s leading aluminium fabricated product developer and manufacturer, announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three months ended 31 March 2016. During the period under review, the quarterly revenue was approximately RMB3.46 billion. Benefited from the increasing share of high-end aluminium extrusion products in its product mix, the Group achieved gross margin expansion by 4.3 percentage points year-on-year to 33.6 per cent. Net profit reached RMB604 million. Mr. Lu Changqing, Executive Director and President of China Zhongwang, said, “In the first quarter of 2016, China’s economy continued to exhibit steady growth. The structural adjustment in the sectors of transportation, machinery and...
EGA to showcase billets at International Aluminum Extrusion Technology Seminar & Exposition
Emirates Global Aluminium (Ega), the Middle East’s largest primary aluminium producer, will participate at the 11th International Aluminum Extrusion Technology Seminar & Exposition (ET’16), which takes place from May 2 to 6 in Chicago, US. The company, which is among the top five in the world, was jointly set up by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai after combining their respective aluminium industry interests. Held every four years, the ET series of events has an established reputation for quality and commitment to excellence; and is highly respected by players in the aluminium extrusion industry. The ET’16 event, which marks Ega’s third participation, is expected to attract more than 1,200 industry professionals from more than 50 countries....
LME aluminium to find rising strength from SHFE aluminium
LME aluminium will find rising strength from SHFE aluminium this week, SMM predicted Friday, last week. SMM sees LME aluminium advancing to $1,640-1,700 per tonne. Aluminium stocks in China’s major markets continue falling, due to limited capacity restarts and new capacity release. Tight supply bode well for SHFE aluminium in the medium term. This week will see SHFE 1607 aluminium face selling pressure at highs but find strong support at 12,500 yuan per tonne. Spot aluminium is expected to trade at discounts of 0-20 yuan per tonne over SHFE 1605 aluminium. China April manufacturing PMI and US April non-farm payrolls, due for release this week, are expected to be positive.
Speculators push aluminium to nine-month high
Aluminium hit a nine-month peak on Friday, April 29, as speculators pushed prices higher thanks to a weaker dollar, but analysts were wary about a possible retreat. "You look at aluminium, the only buying this week has been CTA buying, we still see no consumer activity, they're not chasing this price rally," said Citi analyst David Wilson. CTAs or Commodity Trading Advisors largely run speculative funds with trading decisions usually based on momentum and other technical factors. "Aluminium is in overbought territory, given the fact we've seen decent volumes of producer hedging and I'd expect we'd see more going forward. Clearly, this looks overpriced," Wilson added. Three month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange closed up 0.8 per cent at $US1678 a tonne, the highest since July last...
Balco plans to enhance capacity to 1 MTPA
Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) would be expanding its production capacity to 1 million tonne per annum (MTPA). The proposal for the expansion and modernisation of Balco facility located in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district was designed in 2013. It was however put on hold following global economic slowdown. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, who visited Balco early this week for the first time after taking over 51 per cent stake in the company in 2001, asked the officials to revive the plan and expedite the expansion programme with immediate effect. The Government of India holds remaining 49 per cent stake in the company that was incorporated in the year 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). “The company would be investing INR 10,000 crore for the expansion plan,”...
Concerns remain about new Pahang bauxite mining measures
A gamut of measures have been taken to systematize bauxite mining and transport in Pahang Malaysia, ever since the moratorium ended last month. As per the new rules, safer pakamatic lorries will be transporting bauxite on newly designed routes to new safer storage sites for stockpiles. The routes will avoid heavily populated residential areas and lorry drivers will be required to abide by load limits to avoid spillage en route. The authorities in Pahang have been talking up these new safety measures in Pahang for months now. The aim is to preempt a repeat of the environmental calamity that befell the state last year as a result of helter-skelter bauxite mining. Work is also underway, they have announced, on improvements to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that operators will be...
HP launches anodised aluminium body Chromebook 13 G1
HP in collaboration with Google on Thursday, April 28, launched its latest Chromebook 13 laptop, the Chromebook 13 G1, priced at $499 (roughly INR 33,200) for the base model. It is said to go on sale this month. Looking at the Chromebook 13 G1's design, which boasts of a brushed anodised aluminium body along with the HP's glossy iconic logo, it is hard not to see the similarities with Apple's 12-inch MacBook. The anodised aluminium body laptop even bears USB Type-C ports, and no Ethernet port. It weighs in at 1.29 kgs, and measures 319.9x219.6x12.9mm, which is thinner than the 13.1mm Apple MacBook - the MacBook is lighter however, at 0.92 kgs. HP aluminium Chromebook 13 G1, backed by a 45Wh Li-ion battery, houses 32GB eMMC 5.0 inbuilt storage along with a HP TrueVision HD webcam for video...
RUSAL's alumina production declines in Q1 2016
Russia's United Company RUSAL Plc announced its operating results for the first quarter 2016. In first quarter, RUSAL's total alumina production was 1,873 thousand tons (-1.7 per cent QoQ). Alumina production at Non-Russian operations decreased by 4.3 per cent QoQ to 1,196 thousand tons due largely to scheduled repairs performed at the production facilities (in particular at the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery and Aughinish Alumina Refinery). Output at RUSAL’s Russian operations increased by 12.4 per cent QoQ to 677 thousand tons amid an improved performance at the Achinsk Alumina Refinery.
Union drops effort to restrict U.S. imports of raw aluminium (keep inactive)
The United Steelworkers union has suspended indefinitely an unusual effort to push the United States government to restrict all aluminium imports after the campaign ran into opposition from aluminium companies, the Canadian government and even Canadian members of the union. The union on Friday withdrew its petition to an American trade panel, which was filed the preceding Monday, after an aluminium industry group agreed to work with the union to address its main concern: Chinese aluminium production overcapacity and exports. “The Aluminium Association shares many of the concerns expressed by the United Steelworkers regarding Chinese aluminium overproduction,” the group said in a statement. “Overcapacity must be addressed to maintain a vibrant and healthy North American aluminium...
RUSAL Q1 aluminium production increases amid signs of price recovery
UC RUSAL announced its operating results for the first quarter 2016. Aluminium production in first quarter totalled 916 thousand tons (-0.5 per cent QoQ). The smelters utilization rate was on average at 95 per cent. Russia Siberian smelters accounted for 94 per cent of total aluminium output. First quarter 2016 aluminium sales increased by 9.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 957 thousand tons. This growth in sales is largely explained by the seasonal factors (lower sales in 4Q15 during the winter season) and the addition of primary aluminium produced at BOAZ (the plant is currently operating in the test mode). The share of VAP4 in total aluminium sales declined to 41 per cent in first quarter 2016 (versus 45 per cent in 4Q15) amid higher sales of primary aluminium. The volume of VAP sold...
JLR-Novelis co-developed high-strength aluminium alloy helps Jaguar reach recycling milestone
As the Jaguar XE celebrates its first full-year of sales, ‘REALCAR’, the pioneering recycled aluminium project that contributes to the awarding winning saloon’s aluminium-intensive body has reached a significant milestone. Jaguar Land Rover has reclaimed over 50,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap, the weight of 200,000 XE body shells, back into the production process during 2015/16, preventing more than 500,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere by not using primary aluminium material. The figures are a result of project ‘REALCAR’ which involves 11 UK press shops implementing a closed-loop, segregating waste aluminium scrap so that it can be sent back into production to be re-melted into recycled aluminium sheet for use in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. The Jaguar Land...
Rico Auto sets up manufacturing plant in Chennai
Rico Auto Industries Ltd stock was higher by 5 per cent at INR 40. The company has set up a manufacturing plant at Chennai for supply of High Pressure Die Casting Aluminium Auto Components to Renault-Nissan. The scrip opened at INR 40 and has touched a high and low of INR 41.1 and INR 39.7 respectively. So far 1134237 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is INR 526.32crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 50.1 per cent while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 3.73 per cent and 46.17 per cent respectively. Rico is a world-class engineering company supplying a wide range of high precision fully machined aluminium components and assemblies to automotive OEMs across the globe. Rico’s consolidated group total turnover is over US$...
Gränges posts volume growth and stable profit in Q1
Gränges announced interim report for January-March 2016. Sales volume reached 45.1 ktonnes (42.7), an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to previous year. Net sales of the rolled aluminium products supplier for brazed aluminium heat exchangers totalled SEK 1,360 million (1,456), a decrease of 6.6 per cent compared to previous year. Adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 155 million (155), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 11.4 per cent (10.6). Gränges' Operating profit amounted to SEK 155 million (155). Profit for the period was SEK 94 million (111), and earnings per share basic and diluted decreased to SEK 1.25 (1.49). Cash flow during January- March 2016, before financing activities, was SEK -22 million (-1). Net debt amounted to SEK 316 million at 31 March 2016,...
New dry recycling system for aluminium salt cake from BHS-Sonthofen
A simplified dry recycling process to recover the 5-10 per cent of aluminium which remains in the aluminium salt cake produced in the smelting process of secondary aluminium, has been developed by German recycling equipment manufacturer, BHS-Sonthofen. According to the company, to date the recovery of this aluminium has thus far proven difficult, costly and time consuming. However, it said that it has now developed a new process based on the selective impact crushing of the salt cake. By using its multi-functional Rotorshredder and VSI rotor centrifugal crusher, BHS-Sonthofen said that its process has a number of advantages over traditional methods including lower power consumption, lower wear and maintenance costs as well as lower noise pollution – as well as no danger of dust explosion...
Chalco turns in second straight profitable quarter
State-owned Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (Chalco) reported its second consecutive profitable quarter today, buoyed by a rise in domestic prices for primary aluminium. Chalco turned in a net profit of CN¥19.2 million (US$2.97 million) for the first quarter, which is down from a profit of CN¥48 million (US$7.74 million) in the first quarter of 2015 the firm said in a filing on the Shanghai stock exchange today. The firm, which is the world’s biggest producer of aluminium, made a return to the black in 2015 after cutting costs due to record losses the year prior. The year has been good so far for the primary aluminium market in the People’s Republic of China – the price of a front-month contract on the Shanghai Metal Exchange (which generally reflects domestic supply and demand of spot...
SHFE aluminium to lack upward momentum
SHFE 1606 aluminium will struggle around the 5-day and 10-day moving averages and move at RMB 12,500-12,700/mt today, SMM said in an early morning forecast. A softer UD dollar and rising crude oil will push LME aluminium up to USD 1,640-1,670/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot discounts of RMB 0-30/mt and spot premiums of RMB 0-10/mt are expected over SHFE 1605 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices Bases metals will maintain diverging trend on Friday with a big bag of economic figures coming under spotlight, including annualized Q1 GDP from euro zone and France, US annualized March price index for PCE, University of Michigan’s CCI and speeches of US Dallas Federal Reserve Chairman Kaplan. Q1 GDP from euro zone may miss forecast as inflation in euro...
