AL Circle Analysis: Bauxite developments, alumina trade & primary aluminium market dynamics across Australia, Guinea, US & India
The aluminium industry is entering another phase of supply-chain repositioning. Across bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium, companies are investing in new resources, consolidating strategic assets and expanding processing capacity, while governments are increasingly treating domestic supply as a strategic priority. The latest developments from Australia, Guyana, Guinea, Indonesia, the US and India point to a market where resource security, processing location and control over supply chains are becoming as important as production growth. At the same time, new trading mechanisms and changing investment patterns are beginning to influence how aluminium and its raw materials reach the market. Bauxite supply expands, but securing the right tonnes is becoming harder In Western Australia, VBX...
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...
Grow with
AL Circle
Constellium to report second quarter 2015 results August 5, 2015
Constellium N.V. will announce its second quarter 2015 financial results on Wednesday, August 5, 2015. A conference call and webcast to present the results will take place at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on the same day. The conference call will be hosted by Pierre Vareille, Chief Executive Officer, and Didier Fontaine, Chief Financial Officer. Details of the conference call, webcast and accompanying presentation will be available on the Investor Relations page at Constellium website.
North American aluminum scrap prices declined
The North American Aluminum scrap prices declined on ScrapMonster Price Index as on Tuesday. 1100 Scrap prices declined by $0.01 per Lb. The prices of 3003 Scrap too fell $0.01 per Lb. A down move of $0.01 per Lb was witnessed in 356 Aluminum Wheels, 6061 Extrusions, 6063 Extrusions and 6063 Extrusions/Fe. Meantime, 5052 Scrap prices fell by $0.02 per Lb. The prices of Al/Cu Radiators and Al/Cu Radiators/Fe remained unchanged over the previous day. Aluminum Radiators and Aluminum Radiators/Fe prices went down by $0.01 per Lb each. Aluminum Transformers and Breakage 50% Recovery prices held steady on 21st July. Chrome Wheels, Litho Sheets and Mixed Aluminum Turnings prices dropped by $0.01 per Lb. E.C Aluminum Wire prices slipped by $0.02 per Lb. The prices of MLC Clips, Old Cast and Old...
India's Mines Ministry agrees on doubling of aluminium import tax
The Mines Ministry of India, after being approached by AAI and leading aluminium makers of the country last week, has agreed on the issue of increasing import tax on aluminium. The Ministry will ask its counterparts in the government’s finance department to double the import tax to counter cheap imports from China and the Middle East. Producers have sought a 10 percent increase in custom duty, confirmed Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar. “The industry is in a difficult situation and they need some sort of government support to tide over the situation,” he said. Cheap imports from China and the Middle East along with plunging LME prices because of global glut have made aluminium smelters across the country economically unviable. The metal slumped 18.6 percent to a six-year low on LME in the...
Noranda Aluminum reports second quarter 2015 results
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation today reported results for second quarter 2015 on July 23, 2015. "In a volatile second quarter 2015 aluminum price environment, we successfully managed cash and available liquidity while continuing to focus on improving our operational reliability and implementing key productivity initiatives," said Layle K. "Kip" Smith, Noranda's President and Chief Executive Officer. "At a time when aluminum prices have declined sharply, maintaining cash and liquidity is a strategic priority. We believe our cash and available liquidity position supports our business as we execute our other strategic priorities." "Our strategic priorities are to preserve cash and liquidity while reducing our costs by improving our operational reliability and implementing key...
China alumina output to stay high in July after 13% growth in June
China’s alumina output is expected to remain high in July after rising 13% year-on-year in June, SMM predicts. Despite delay of commissioning schedules for new alumina capacity amid falling alumina prices, most alumina refineries are maintaining high operating rates, SMM has learned. Bosai Group plans to put off 300,000-tpy upgrade project to August. Chalco (Chongqing)’s 800,000-tpy alumina project may be unable to restart this year due to high costs. China’s alumina output was 4.72 million tonnes in June, SMM statistics showed.
Noranda reports loss in bauxite segment for second quarter 2015
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation today reported results for second quarter 2015 on July 23, 2015. Bauxite segment reported a $3.1 million loss in second quarter 2015, a $2.1 million profit in first quarter 2015, and a $1.3 million loss in second quarter 2014. • Sequentially, Bauxite results primarily reflect the additional bauxite production levy of $5.9 million which resulted from an interim agreement with the GOJ related to the production levy dispute referenced above, partially offset by lower demurrage fees as a result of the completion of the port expansion project at the beginning of the second quarter of 2015. • Year-over year, Bauxite results reflect the additional bauxite production levy of $5.9 million partially offset by lower fuel costs ($2.5 million), currency benefit...
China's aluminium exports leading to unfair competition- observes Hydro
China’s aluminum exports that are compounding a glut of the metal are unfair competition to overseas producers, according to Norsk Hydro ASA. China accounts for half of the world’s aluminum supply and has been producing record amounts of the metal, which it then ships out in the form of semi-fabricated products. A “significant amount” of primary material is also leaving the country disguised into shapes that circumvent the country’s tax rules, said Hydro’s Chief Executive Officer Svein Richard Brandtzaeg. “This is definitely unfair competition,” Brandtzaeg said in an interview in London on Tuesday. “This is absolutely damaging the industry. It’s taking the market share from other companies.” Aluminum is trading near a six-year low amid an oversupply that Hydro, Europe’s third-largest...
Global aluminum output, excluding China, declined in June
The most recent statistics released by the International Aluminum Institute (IAI) indicates that the global aluminum output during the month of June this year, excluding China, dropped when compared with the prior month. As per IAI data, the total aluminum production during June this year totaled 2.056 million mt, down by almost 3.7% when compared with the revised output figure of 2.135 million mt in May. The average daily aluminum output during the month of June this year was slightly lower month-on-month. The daily output, excluding China, averaged at 68,500 mt per day, lower by 400 mt per day when compared with the average daily output of 68,900 mt per day during May this year. The average daily output in China stood at 91,900 tons, significantly higher when compared with 87,200 tons...
Technal provides aluminium curtain walling systems for Codeworks
Technal-brand aluminium curtain walling systems have contributed to an “A” rating for energy efficiency for The Codeworks – a striking new office and data center which forms the first phase of the Strata Campus in Stockport, UK. The 30,000-square-foot development for the insurance software specialists Cheshire Datasystems Limited (CDL) occupies a riverfront site and is part of a multi-million pound investment program to accommodate the company’s growing workforce. External walls of white-facing brick contrast effectively with large areas of Technal’s GEODE-MX Visible Grid curtain walling carrying panels of glass in different shades of green. The system was used to create full-height glazing spanning three stories across the south elevation, where high-performance glass is used to control...
Aluminum prices plummet further as China's production surge adds to Glut
Aluminum slid to the lowest in almost two weeks as increasing supply from China adds to a global glut in the metal. Chinese exports of unwrought aluminum and products swelled 35 percent in the first half from a year earlier to 2.5 million metric ons, according to customs data. While demand in the rest of the world will exceed supply this year, the excess supply in China will mean a global surplus of 500,000 to 1 million tons, according to Norsk Hydro ASA. “A number of commodity complexes, ranging from aluminum, to copper, steel and oil among others, are all are saddled with too much supply,” Edward Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone Inc. in New York, said in an e-mailed report. There’s “no willingness on behalf of their respective producers to ratchet down output in order to lend an element...
South32 to book $1.9bn writedown
BHP Billiton spin-off South32 will record a $US1.9 billion writedown on manganese and coal assets, and said curtailing production of manganese and aluminium was designed to maximise shareholder value, rather than volume. South32 today said the $US1.3bn reduction in book value of the manganese assets largely offsets the previous "fair value uplift" of $US2.1bn described in its listing documents. The company also flagged a $US539 million writedown on its Wolvekrans Middelburg complex at its South Africa energy coal unit. "The associated reduction in book value will result in a lower depreciation charge for the manganese assets than previously indicated," South32 added. BHP Billiton spun off its non-core assets into South32, in May, as the parent miner focusses on commodities including iron...
Ford launches deluxe aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup
US automaker Ford rolled out a deluxe version of its F-150 aluminum-bodied pickup truck Tuesday, betting on high-end touches as it ramps up production of its most popular vehicle. Dubbed the F-150 Limited, the light-duty truck is loaded with gadgets, including a 360-degree camera, massaging front seats and luxury interior and exterior design touches. "The F-150 Limited sets a new bar for what discerning customers should expect in a high-end truck," said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development, in a statement. The F-150 Limited extends the current five-model F-150 portfolio, whose top-end is the Platinum, with a base price of $51,585. The 2016 Limited will go on sale in the winter, Ford said, without giving any price details. Pickup trucks and crossover sport...
Aluminum Association updates on shipments of aluminum products in North America
According to the Aluminum Association reports, estimated shipments of Aluminum Foil by U.S. and Canadian producers totaled 82.4 million pounds during June 2015, a decrease of 7.0 percent from the June 2014 total of 88.6 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments were off 4.1 percent from the May 2015 total of 85.9 million pounds. Year-to-date shipments through June 2015 totaled 481.1 million pounds, down 6.4 percent from the 2014 year-to-date total of 514.2 million pounds. Estimated net shipments of Aluminum Sheet and Plate by U.S. and Canadian producers totaled 730.5 million pounds during June 2015, a rise of 4.3 percent over the June 2014 total of 700.1 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments increased 4.7 percent over the May 2015 revised total of 697.9...
Wrightstyle completes ten years of aluminium glazing systems business
Wrightstyle, a brand synonymous with bomb blast safety in the whole of Europe completed a decade of successful glazing systems business this year. In 2000, the company introduced its first ground-breaking glazing system which had the capacity to withstand the pressure impact of a powerful lorry bomb. Since then, the proven solution has dominated the market. At the initial phase, Wrightstyle was approached by the Central Security and Co-ordination Command Centre with a set of specifications for ensuring total safety of the Asian Games hosted in Doha, Qatar in December 2006. The specially designed USD $31million building was supposed to be handed over to the Qatar military on completion of the Games. Accordingly, the glazing system was independently tested against the equivalent of 500...
Kaiser Aluminum beats Wall Street's revenue outllook for Q2
Kaiser Aluminum Corp., the Foothill Ranch-based maker of semi-fabricated aluminum products for defense, aviation and automotive industries, beat Wall Street expectations on second-quarter revenue and income. The company posted net income of $20 million, or $1.11 per diluted share, compared to net income and earnings per diluted share of $25 million and $1.33, respectively, for the prior-year period. Its adjusted earnings were $23 million, or $1.27 per share, for the quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $1.19 cents for the quarter. The company also beat Wall Street’s revenue outlook. Its net sales totaled $367 million for the second quarter compared with analysts’ expectations of $366.5 million. “Our results for shipments, value added revenue, and EBITDA were all [company] records ......
Seasonal sales push Hydro's second quarter 2015 downstream earnings to record high
Hydro's underlying earnings before financial items and tax declined to NOK 2,667 million in the second quarter from NOK 3,208 million in the first quarter of 2015, mainly reflecting lower aluminium prices and premiums. Stronger seasonal sales volumes lifted downstream results to the highest level since Hydro became a pure aluminium company in 2007. "Results this quarter are affected by weaker prices, but I am pleased to see demand growing and aluminium taking over as the preferred metal in more and more applications, contributing to record results in our downstream operations," says President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg. Improved results in Rolled Products and Sapa partially offset the effect of a challenging upstream market. Rolled Products delivered improved underlying EBIT mainly...
China's SEPCO hands over first unit of Balco's INR 5,000-Cr plant
China's Shandong Electric Power Corporation or SEPCO on Tuesday handed over the first unit of Balco's INR 5,000-crore 1,200 MW power plant to the aluminium producer. Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco), a part of the billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group, said work will start on the remaining three units of the power plant shortly. Vedanta holds a 51 per cent stake in Balco, while the remaining is with the government of India. "The first unit of the 12,00 MW power plant established by Balco has been handed over by Sepco to the Balco management for operation," Balco said in a statement. Balco's head for 1,200 MW operations Pankaj Sharma said SEPCO had started the reliability run test (RRT) on July 3, 2015, and the plant was run with average load continuously till July 16, and no...
Outotec signs a contract with Emirates Global Aluminium valued at 80 million euros
Finnish minerals and metals processing technology company Outotec has signed an agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) for two alumina calciners.The contract is valued at over 80 million euros and involves the design and delivery of the calciners to the alumina refinery that EGA is planning to construct in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. The order is the second in recent months for the Finnish company to be delivered in Al Taweelah following a contract signed with Emirates Aluminium Company Limited PJSC (EMAL) in April this year. The 10 million-euro agreement with EMAL involved the delivery of anode carbon plant technology for an expansion at its aluminum smelter complex. EGA has also been in the news recently, becoming the Middle East’s first manufacturer to receive ISO certification...
