China's 22.87 Mt extrusion market faces a structural shift as 317 GW solar growth counters weak construction demand
The global aluminium extrusion landscape is undergoing a structural transition driven by industrial decarbonisation, global electrification, and the rapid deployment of clean energy infrastructure. Historically anchored by civil engineering and residential real estate, demand for extruded aluminium profiles in China, the world’s dominant manufacturing hub, is decoupling from traditional property sectors. Persistent structural weakness in China’s domestic construction market has slowed the consumption of conventional architectural profiles such as window frames, door sections, and curtain walls. Conversely, advanced industrial applications, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) racking, battery energy storage systems (BESS), power grid modernisation, and electric vehicles (EVs), have...
AL Circle Analysis: Aluminium’s recycling economics, trade walls and carbon rules converge
The story of the aluminium industry is starting a chapter wherein scrap availability, recycling technology, trade policy, carbon costs and demand growth are becoming increasingly interconnected. From the US and Canada to Europe, India, New Zealand and China, recent developments show that the global aluminium supply chain is being reshaped on several fronts at once. These developments point to a changing aluminium business model: access to metal alone may no longer be enough. Quality of recycled feedstock, domestic processing capacity, carbon intensity, trade exposure and the ability to meet increasingly specific customer requirements could become equally important competitive factors. Join the fourth edition of the webinar “Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours” by Jorge...
Grow with
AL Circle
ITT Cannon receives certification for aluminium and composite connectors
ITT Corporation’s Cannon brand receives European Standard Certification (EN3645) for its aluminium and composite Circular Series III connectors, certified in the United States under MIL-DTL-38999. The certification followed rigorous testing, site audits and data collection by the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe - Standardization (ASD-STAN). It makes these ITT Cannon connectors available for the first time to a wide range of customers in the European commercial aerospace market and supply chain. ITT’s D38999 Circular Series III aluminium and composite connectors provide reliable passage of radio frequency, data and power signals. Created for use in fuselage cable harnesses, electrical systems and avionics equipment, these connectors have performed reliably for years...
Global high purity aluminium production market to grow at 2.93% from 2016 to 2021
According to a recently published market research report, global high purity aluminium production market was 149K million tonnes (mt) in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.93% from 2016 to 2021. High purity aluminium mainly covers product types- 4N High Purity Aluminium, 4N5 High Purity Aluminium, 5N High Purity Aluminium, 5N5 High Purity Aluminium, 6N High Purity Aluminium, and 6N8 High Purity Aluminium. The main application areas include electrolytic capacitor foil, plates for flat panel display industry, semiconductor industry, bonding wire, sputtering targets, thin films, chemical industry, and high purity alloys. High purity aluminium is used to produce computer hard drives and aluminium foil capacitors. China is the largest market of high purity aluminium in the world in...
BIR Non-Ferrous World Mirror February 2016
Changes have been mooted for AQSIQ licences covering imports of scrap into China, including most notably a proposal for licence validity to be extended from three to five years. And with regard to licence extensions, it has been proposed that any two or more changes involving address, legal person and title applicant should require re-application for a new certificate. In China itself, as regards ADC12 aluminium alloy offered by smelters in China and Russia, meanwhile, prices were reportedly dropped by US$ 60-70 per ton in January because of a decline in contracts for exports to Japan. Also in the east of Asia, scrap suppliers in Malaysia are said to be taking advantage of a weaker domestic currency to export, resulting in a tighter local market. 2016 has already brought the annual...
Noranda Aluminum hit by commodity crash, seeks bankruptcy
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp, which smelts and refines aluminum and mines bauxite, filed for bankruptcy on Monday and joined a growing list of commodity-related businesses in Chapter 11. Over the past year scores of commodity-related businesses have filed for bankruptcy as prices for metals, energy and coal have plummeted amid a slowdown in markets such as China and Brazil. Noranda is putting its profitable flat-rolled products business up for sale to raise cash and is winding down a key smelting plant in New Madrid, Missouri, where production will halt around March, court documents showed. The Franklin, Tennessee-based company, whose competitors include Alcoa Inc and Kaiser Aluminum Corp, said challenging market conditions made business without court protection unsustainable. "This is...
Hindalco Industries likely to report loss for Q3 2015
Hindalco Industries Ltd, one of India's leading aluminium producers, will announce its financial results on February 9 for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. A leading investment research firm forecasts, the company is likely to report a loss of INR 159 crore for Q3 FY16. The firm expects net revenue to decline to INR 8,108 crore at 5.8 per cent y-o-y and 9.2 per cent q-o-q. The EBIDTA margin is expected to go down at 7 per cent, with a y-o-y fall of 3.7 bps. According to the investment research firm, for the non-ferrous space, volumes for most of the players would be higher on a y-o-y basis. Hindalco’s aluminium volumes would be strong on the back of higher output from new capacities.
'More protection with new bauxite-mining scheme,' says Pahang Environment Ministry
The new bauxite-mining scheme being finalised by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, Malaysia, will provide better protection for the people and environment, as well as ensure sustainability of the industry. Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said that at least three areas of control would regulate the sector, which last year drew the wrath of Kuantan folk for the environmental pollution it caused, partly due to poor regulation of the industry. Now, industry players will have to, among others, observe the port’s export capacity, the mining operators’ production abilities and the Federal Government’s issuance of Approval Permits (APs). “It had been predicted that the bauxite-mining industry would last between two and three years,” Wan Junaidi said. “However,...
NALCO CMD meets India's PM Narendra Modi
During the recent visit of the Prime Minister to the Temple City of Bhubaneswar, Shri Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO extended him warm welcome on behalf of all the industries in Bhubaneswar and NALCO, the Navratna company, at Raj Bhavan, Bhubaneswar. He also presented a book “Aluminium : The Strategic Metal” authored by him to Prime Minister. The book was earlier released by Central Vigilance Commissioner, Govt. of India, on 6th January, 2016. The book has been reviewed by Dr. Abraham Koshy, Professor, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmadabad. He has described it as “One Stop Shop” for key information pertaining to the entire value chain of Aluminium making from Bauxite Mining to rolling, casting and high end product making. The book is primarily meant for frontline engineers,...
No relief in sight yet for Indian aluminium makers
Government of India has provided relief to the domestic steel manufacturers hit by cheap imports and the global slowdown in commodity price by imposing a minimum import price ranging from $341 to $752 a tonne on 173 steel products. But, the global slowdown has left the aluminium industry still struggling with misearbly thin margins and low production. Addressing banks’ exposure to the steel industry has been given priority over a potential drop in investments in aluminium, pointed a senior Government official. It is to be noted that banks’ exposure to the entire metals sector, which includes aluminium, is around INR1,02,300 crore. Over the next five years, the aluminium industry has planned an investment of INR 1,20,000 crore but this has been put on hold due to existing constraints...
AEC urges U.S. Senate to take up vote on important Trade Enforcement Bill
The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) commends the U.S. House of Representatives for supporting American manufacturing by voting to approve the conference report to H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. AEC has asked the U.S. Senate take up this important issue and approve the bill when it comes to the floor, which is likely to happen this week. The final conference report creates new procedures at U.S. Customs and Border Protection to effectively address the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders within set deadlines. “The relief our industry has enjoyed from unfairly traded Chinese imports has been threatened by the efforts of Chinese producers like Zhongwang and others to circumvent and evade duties,” said Jeff Henderson, AEC Director of...
STUDY: Vehicle lightweighting an economical solution for truck fleets
Commercial truck fleets looking to increase fuel efficiency, haul more freight and retain more drivers can look to lightweighting as a key enabler, according to a recent Confidence Report on Lightweighting by Trucking Efficiency. The report found that investing in lightweighting is an attractive and economical alternative to adding expensive new equipment – potentially saving fleets nearly $1 million over five years. Trucking Efficiency is an initiative of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and the Carbon War Room (CWR) that aims to double the efficiency of the North American trucking fleet. “When lightweighting is looked at not only in terms of better fuel economy but also improved freight efficiency, it makes sense in a wide variety of applications,” said Mike...
Aluminium Federation SA begs National Energy Regulator to review its cost recovery strategy
Power utility Eskom will know in a matter of weeks whether its attempt to recover R22.8 billion for cost recovery and revenue adjustments is successful. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) hearings on Eskom’s regulatory clearing account (RCA) ended on Friday and the regulator will make a decision on February 25. The RCA application is a cost recovery mechanism that seeks to reconcile the tariffs Nersa awarded Eskom on the basis of a range of forecasts and what materialized, as reflected in the utility’s financial statements. The mining sector, which is a major consumer of power, told the hearings that the application was not affordable in the current economic climate. Major companies and business organizations begged Nersa to reject the application, citing the negative...
Can-Pack Romania invests in intelligent collection devices of aluminium cans
Can-Pack Romania, the only producer of aluminium cans in Romania, plans to invest 200,000 Euro in order to install during this year 21 intelligent collection devices of aluminium can waste that will be implemented in the Auchan hypermarket network, according to Adina Magsi, the general manager of Alucro. Alucro, a non-profit association, was founded in 2008 by Can-Pack Romania and EAA (European Aluminium Association) in order to the promote the collection-recycling system of aluminium cans on the local market. The organization will carry out information campaigns in order to determine the population to use these devices to recover the waste and avoid disposing of the aluminium cans in inappropriate places. "We have far more ambitious plans for 2016 that we want to achieve as we planned,"...
China Zhongwang upbeat about automotive aluminium market
China Zhongwang Holdings, China’s top aluminium extrusion producer, is pinning hopes on the automotive sector for pulling up demand for aluminium extrusions, reported sources close to the company. Zhongwang’s managing director perceives three areas of growth that will buoy aluminium applications consumption in automobile manufacturing; these are- car body, car door, and car parts. A recent survey report published by one international authority showed that a 100 kg reduction in vehicle weight could save fuel consumption by 0.3-0.6 liters per 100 km.
Maan Aluminium informs about closure of trading window
Maan Aluminium has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the company will be held on February 13, 2016, to consider and approve Un-Audited Financial Results of the company for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2015 along with the limited review report of the auditors for the corresponding period (Q3). Further, in terms of trading restrictions placed of the code of conduct of company to regulate, monitor and report trading in securities pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 the Trading Window for dealing with the shares of company will remain closed from February 06, 2016 to February 14, 2016. Maan Aluminium is one of the oldest aluminium extrusion plants in Central India....
India's major aluminium scrap prices up; MCX aluminium settles higher
Major aluminium scrap commodities prices in India advanced on Thursday, February 4, while aluminium futures prices at Multi Commodity Exchange settled higher as a steep fall in the dollar eclipsed tepid demand in China, forcing shorts to cover ahead of the week long Lunar new year break. The major aluminium scrap commodities rose on Scrap Register Price Index as on Thursday. India's major scrap commodities like aluminium accessories scrap, aluminium ingots, aluminium rod company, aluminium sheet cutting, aluminium utensil scrap and aluminium wire scrap traded up on Thursday. The most active February aluminium contract on Multi Commodity Exchange settled slightly up by 0.39 pe cent to INR 104.45 per kilogram on Thursday from previous close of INR 104.05 per kilogram. The MXC aluminium...
Bank seeks order to take over Tower Aluminium Nigeria
Access Bank Plc has filed a petition before a Federal High Court in Lagos against Tower Aluminium Nigeria Plc over an alleged debt of N2.6bn. The bank, in the said petition, is seeking an order of the court appointing the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court or any insolvency or accounting expert, as the provisional liquidator of Tower Aluminium Nigeria Plc. It prayed the court to empower the said appointed provisional liquidator to take charge of “all identifiable and traceable assets, properties and funds in banks within and outside Nigeria” belonging to Tower Aluminum. It also sought an order restraining the respondent from “transferring or dissipating its assets; and an order restraining it from interfering with or disturbing the provisional liquidator to be appointed.” It also...
Alba announces the appointment of four new managers
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter in the world, is pleased to announce the appointment of four new managers in key departments of the Company, which underlines the Company’s belief of promoting from within and cultivating the next generation of leaders. The new managers are: Nezar Hameed Ali as Manager Operation Support Services (OSS); Hussain Al-Malali as Manager Customer Technical Support (CTS); Mohd A. Rahim Zainal as Manager Reduction Line 5 and Khalid Ahmed Shareef as Manager Reduction Maintenance & Services. On announcing the appointment of the new managers, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “As a priority, Alba always looks to promote from within the company. Alba believes in developing talented nationals by providing them with the...
Rio Tinto bauxite and alumina chief Phillip Strachan steps down
The man in charge of Rio Tinto's $US1.9 billion ($2.7 billion) bauxite expansion has left the company, as the miner's cost cutting drive continues to trim its executive ranks. Phillip Strachan had been Rio's chief executive of Bauxite and Alumina based out of Brisbane in recent years, but his role will now be absorbed by Pacific Aluminium chief executive Bruce Cox. The change comes barely three months after Rio announced it would go ahead with a major expansion of its bauxite export business near Weipa in Queensland. Mr Strachan has been involved with Rio's aluminium division since 1999, and it is believed he is not the only departure from Rio's Brisbane office. Mr Cox is well known across the Australian mining sector, having spent more than three decades working for BHP Billiton and Rio...
