Europe holds 10% of global aluminium extrusion demand, supported by Germany’s Constellium, France’s Hydro Extrusions & Italy’s Metra
Across Europe, aluminium extrusion has become closely woven into some of the region’s biggest industrial and construction markets. From automotive and transport to buildings and industrial applications, extruded profiles are finding demand across a wide range of sectors. This is reflected in Europe’s position in the global market: the region accounted for 12 per cent of global aluminium extrusion capacity, making it the second-largest regional contributor after China. At the same time, Europe represented 10 per cent of global aluminium extrusion usage, out of total global usage of 35.35 million tonnes . With production capacity and usage shares relatively close, Europe’s extrusion capacity and consumption are broadly at par. If we break down Europe’s 10 per cent share of global aluminium...
H1 2026 sees more renewable energy than ever: Here’s a region-by-region guide to renewable energy supply in the recent past
In the first half of 2025, humanity generated more electricity from renewables than from coal for the first time ever. What led to it? It was possible only because of two decades of falling solar panel prices, taller wind turbines, and governments finally treating clean power like an economic opportunity instead of a favour to the planet. But the renewable energy scenario cannot be portrayed as a single global story. To get the full picture, one has to connect dozens of regional stories moving at wildly different speeds. Some countries are already powered almost entirely by sun, wind and water. Others are still warming up. Here is a tour of how renewable energy supply looks across the world’s regions right now, and who is actually leading the charge. The global scorecard: Renewable energy...
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iPhone and aluminium: A story of design, identity, & sustainability
The Apple vs. Android debate has been running for years, with endless arguments over software, cameras, and apps. Yet behind those headline battles was a quieter revolution—one built on aluminium. For Apple, aluminium was never just another material. It became part of its identity, a design philosophy, and a way of uniting elegance with strength. In many ways, the story of the iPhone can’t be told without the story of aluminium. Aluminium enters the iPhone landscape When Steve Jobs stepped on stage in 2007 to reveal the first iPhone, the world’s attention was locked on the touchscreen—a feature that would forever change how we use our phones. Yet, almost quietly, another element was shaping the device’s identity. The smooth aluminium back, cool against the hand and refined in its finish,...
Why aluminium is being pulled from Malaysia’s LME warehouses: demand or costs?
Mercuria and Vitol are withdrawing large volumes of aluminium from London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses in Malaysia, underscoring tightening supply dynamics and the country’s growing reliance on domestic stocks to sustain industrial demand. Mercuria, the Swiss giant, has already taken out nearly 100,000 tonnes from Malaysian storage, while Vitol is preparing withdrawals from Port Klang, according to sources. The timing has surprised market participants since spot aluminium prices are currently higher than forward prices — a structure that usually discourages drawing down inventories. Shrinking imports and stable exports Malaysia’s trade data underscores the rationale. Aluminium exports stood at 2.28 million tonnes in 2023, slipped slightly to 2.25 million tonnes in 2024, and reached...
Why aluminium alloy prices are higher in 2025 vs 2024?
Aluminium alloy LME prices began 2025 on stronger ground, marking a shift upward from the levels seen a year earlier. The LME offer price opened in January at around USD 2250 per tonne but quickly slipped to approx. USD 2100 per tonne. For much of the first quarter, values held between USD 2100 and USD 2500 per tonne. From March 17, momentum turned higher, reaching USD 2547 per tonne and closing the month at USD 2577 per tonne. This was tied to developments in US trade policy. In February, Washington lifted aluminium tariffs under Section 232 from 10 to 25 per cent, effective March 12, 2025, while scrapping exemptions. Buyers rushed to secure supplies before the higher duties came into effect, boosting inventories and advancing shipments. Some attempted to claim exemptions for “melted and...
Al Circle x Window Magic: How aluminium is redefining India’s fenestration future
In conversation with Mr Manish Bansal, the Director and CEO of Window Magic highlights aluminium’s pivotal role in reshaping India’s architectural and fenestration industry, offering strength, design flexibility, and sustainability compared to traditional materials. He notes its recyclability, energy-efficient technologies, and alignment with global trends like minimalistic frames, unitised curtain walls, and dynamic façades. With European technology raising performance standards and digital tools like BIM and smart glass driving precision and efficiency, aluminium is positioned as the material of choice for future-ready buildings. Backed by Window Magic’s sustainability initiatives, diversification, and innovation-driven culture, Bansal sees aluminium as central to India’s construction...
Tariffs or economic slowdown - What’s behind North America’s aluminium demand weakness, although scrap tells a different story!
According to preliminary estimates from the Aluminum Association, aluminium demand in North America (the US and Canada) fell 4.4 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2025. Whether this decline is the direct fallout of Washington’s punitive duties is a question the Association intends to probe. Its president and CEO, Charles Johnson, has stressed that trade policies must bolster and not burden the domestic aluminium industry. The numbers also point to a deeper dilemma: does a slowdown in aluminium demand signal an equal cooling in both aluminium ingot and scrap? While unwrought aluminium imports are sliding, scrap inflows are climbing, and inventories are swelling. This raises tough questions about how the market is truly shifting. A deeper look at the data and its analysis may offer...
Scrap export tax: European Aluminium advocates for the litmus test in aluminium policy
As Brussels pushes forward with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and doubles down on its climate ambitions, the European aluminium sector is sounding the alarm on another missing piece in the policy puzzle: aluminium scrap. The call is not new, but it is urgent. As downstream manufacturers and industry veterans univocally demand expanded inclusion of goods into CBAM framework, the European Aluminium has advocated for scrap export taxation. Also read: EU top export destinations: Aluminium tube export rebalance as US slump & Norway-Türkiye rise European Aluminium, the industry’s leading voice, argues that without a scrap export tax, Europe risks squandering its strongest competitive lever in the race for decarbonisation — its recycling base. The recycling paradox Recycling is...
Rare earth magnet shortage hits India: China’s export curbs threaten auto output
India’s automobile sector is on alert as supplies of rare earth magnets from China remain suspended, two weeks after Beijing promised to ease export restrictions. Despite high-level talks between the two countries, automakers and component suppliers say little has changed on the ground, and concerns are mounting that production could be disrupted during the upcoming festive season, when demand typically spikes. Why Beijing tightened the screws? The trouble dates back to April 2025, when China’s Ministry of Commerce issued Announcement No. 18. The directive imposed new licensing rules and export controls on seven key rare earth elements, including dysprosium, terbium, and samarium. These materials are indispensable for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, defence hardware, aerospace...
South32 profit soars 75% on alumina price surge, but misses estimates
Australia’s South32 has reported a 75 per cent rise in annual profit, lifted by strong alumina operations and higher prices across its portfolio, though the result fell short of analyst forecasts. For the year ended June 30, underlying earnings came in at USD 666 million, up from USD380 million a year earlier but just a bit less from USD697.7 million that was expected by Visible Alpha. Shares slipped 2.1 per cent to AUD 2.85 in early trade, even as the broader index was little changed. Alumina was the standout performer, benefitting from a near 45 per cent surge in prices. That alone boosted divisional operating earnings by USD 714 million to USD 1.08 billion. The aluminium unit also enjoyed stronger prices, supported by supply tightness and higher costs across the sector. Copper and...
Arrow Minerals halts operations amid Guinea’s regulatory shifts, following EGA’s move
Arrow Minerals, the West Africa-focused bauxite explorer, has announced that it's putting a hold on operations at its Niagara bauxite project in Guinea. The reason is the ongoing dispute about whether its mining permits are valid. The Australian miner reported this in its September 8 half-year update. The Guinean military-led government annulled 129 mineral exploration licenses to reclaim inactive permits and transfer rights to more active investors. The licenses were cancelled without prior discussion to tighten government control over resources. The move may shut down idle projects, cause losses for inactive license holders, and shift the regional mining investment landscape, creating opportunities for operators that actively engage and meet local development expectations. First EGA,...
Deepfakes and aluminium: Warning mock-up of a new risk in a metal-heavy world
The aluminium industry has spent years wrestling with geopolitical turbulence, energy volatility, and erratic trade regimes. In the same breath, it has leaned on technology and artificial intelligence to squeeze out efficiencies and carve a path toward a greener future. But the same digital tools that promised opportunity are now breeding a new, more insidious risk: deepfakes. Synthetic media — doctored video, cloned voices, AI-fabricated documents — may not move molten metal, but they can sway markets, fracture trust, and throw supply chains off balance. For a sector as global and strategically critical as aluminium, the threat is far from abstract. Image for referential purposes only Also read: Indian brands to slash prices: Almost all AL-inclusive goods are cheaper with 'GST 2.0'...
Aluminium sheet market reshaped in 2025: China on top, Italy rising, US losing ground
The global aluminium plates, sheets, and strips trade has undergone a reshuffle in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. While China still towers above everyone else in export value, but several traditional exporters have slipped, and a new entrant, Italy has made its way into the top ranks. The reshuffling reflects a mix of policy changes in Beijing, energy and raw material costs in Europe and the US, shifting demand patterns, and rising competition from newer players. China holds the crown China remains the world’s largest supplier. Exports in H1 2025 were valued at USD 5 billion, up slightly from USD 4.9 billion a year earlier. Yet the volume tells another story: shipments slipped from 1.6 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes. That decline is tied directly to...
Recycled aluminium powers BMW’s iX3 Neue Klasse E-SUV
The German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles, BMW has officially taken the wraps off its much-anticipated 2026 BMW iX3 “Neue Klasse” all-electric SUV, delivering a blend of strong performance and a 20 per cent boost in driving range. And this time, the company has doubled down on renewable energy and recycled materials like aluminium to make the all-new iX3 not only faster but also cleaner than any BEV it has built before. The automotive aluminium market is on the fast track to growth. Valued at USD 97.86 billion in 2024, AL Circle projects it will almost double to USD 205.24 billion by 2032, accelerating at a strong CAGR of 9.7 per cent from 2025 onward. What’s fuelling this rise? Automakers worldwide are racing to integrate lightweight, durable, and endlessly recyclable...
ALUMEX India 2025 – Beyond the hype, what the industry hopes to achieve
September 10, 2025, New Delhi: India’s first-ever exhibition dedicated solely to aluminium extrusions ‘ALUMEX India 2025’, organised by ALEMAI (Aluminium Extrusion Manufacturers Association of India), has begun at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in the capital city of India and will continue to host more than 200 exhibitors and thousands of business visitors until September 13. Through this four-day event, ALEMAI aims to showcase and position India’s highly promising aluminium extrusion industry at the forefront. Currently, India has 3 million tonnes of aluminium extrusion production capacity, which by 2047 is expected to grow six-fold, as underlined by Rajiv Kumar, CEO of Vedanta Aluminium, during the inauguration today. But despite having an installed capacity of 3 million tonnes,...
Australia’s energy crunch: South 32 and other miners along with government, push renewables solutions
At present, the Australian electricity sector is under a lot of pressure, especially after the surging risk of renewable energy curtailment, creating a force to reduce the electricity output. The major reason behind this is the transmission, storage constraints and technicalities. According to the Australian Energy Market Operator, definitive solar projects taking place in South Australia and Victoria are subject to 35 to 65 per cent of curtailment. Current energy crisis in Australia The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has raised a red flag, indicating that by 2027, major solar farms in southeast Australia might have to cut back more than a third of their energy production due to delays in transmission infrastructure. These issues pose a serious threat to the financial viability...
GST 2.0 simplifies IGST and Cess, keeps luxury goods under heavy tax
India’s indirect tax system is on the verge of a major shift with the introduction of GST 2.0 from September 22, 2025. At the centre of this overhaul are two pillars—Integrated GST (IGST) and Cess—that decide how imported goods, inter-state supplies, and luxury products are taxed. IGST has long been used as a balancing tool to treat imports and domestic goods equally, while Cess worked as an extra duty on luxury and demerit products. Under the upcoming system, these two will be folded into a more straightforward slab arrangement. The intent is to simplify compliance while keeping the overall tax pressure on premium products largely the same. GST, which replaced a tangle of older indirect levies, comes in three parts. CGST goes to the Centre on sales within a state. SGST is the state’s...
Indian brands to slash prices: Almost all AL-inclusive goods are cheaper with 'GST 2.0' revised rates
Goods and Services Tax, rather commonly known as GST, was first introduced in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 1, 2017. It was said to have replaced a complex web of central and state taxes such as excise duty, service tax, VAT, octroi, and entry tax, unifying them under a single Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework. 8 years later, present Finance Minister of India has introduced ‘GST 2.0’ slashing previous five slab structure into a more concise 4 slab distribution. Image source: https://www.iasexpress.net/ Also read: Electricity behind aluminium’s price tag? Then, why does Europe’s “green” metal costs so much? When it rolled out in July 2017, the tax system was dressed in five different slabs of 0 per cent, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per...
WEEKLY: China's thermal coal decline deepens; imported prices stabilise
China's domestic thermal coal prices declined last week (September 1-5), extending the downward trend for the second consecutive week, as cooler weather dented power demand and coal consumption, industry sources said. At northern transfer ports, coal trading remained at a standstill as utilities held back from spot purchases. Sources said most buyers focused on meeting long-term contract obligations, supplemented by occasional imports of seaborne thermal coal. With coal consumption falling on cooler weather, utilities saw little need to seek additional cargoes from the domestic market. As of Friday, Mysteel assessed 5,500 kcal per kg NAR thermal coal at RMB 686 per tonne (USD 96.2 per tonne), FOB northern ports with VAT, down by RMB 9 per tonne from a week earlier, adding the total...
Odisha – A Capital of Indian Aluminium Industry (Part 2)
Odisha has three large alumina refineries at present; and they are the backbone for the primary metal production in the country. Photo Caption: Damanjodi Alumina Refinery Damanjodi Alumina Refinery (NALCO) The Alumina Refinery is located at Damanjodi, Koraput district in Odisha, approximately 14 km from the bauxite mine at Panchpatmali and started its operation in 1986. The mined-out bauxite is transported from captive mine to refinery by a 14.6 km long single-flight multi-curve 1800 tonnes per hour (TPH) capacity cable belt conveyor. The alumina produced is transported to aluminium smelter at Angul (Odisha) and to Vizag (Andhra Pradesh) port by rail. The present capacity of Alumina Refinery is 2.3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). The Salient Features are as follow: Atmospheric pressure...
