German downstream aluminium exports fall 13% in H1 2026 but US enters top 5 with 228.1% import surge
Germany’s downstream aluminium export map underwent a noticeable shift in H1 2026. Shipments to the world fell, with most of Germany’s traditional European customers taking less aluminium downstream product. Yet, amid that broad retreat, one market moved in the opposite direction: the United States. German downstream aluminium exports to the world fell to 897,773.19 tonnes in H1 2026 from 1 million tonnes in H1 2025, a decline of 13 per cent year on year. The contrast was particularly sharp in the US market. American imports of German downstream aluminium reached 68,061.61 tonnes in H1 2026, up 228.1 per cent from just 20,743.62 tonnes in H1 2025. The increase of more than 47,000 tonnes was enough to push the US into Germany’s top 5 destinations for the first time. The export map is...
Caustic soda plant setup in India: How aluminium growth is reshaping demand, costs and opportunities
Caustic soda may not be the most visible ingredient in aluminium production, but without it, the journey from bauxite to alumina would look very different. The chemical, also known as sodium hydroxide, is a crucial reagent in the Bayer process, where it helps dissolve alumina-bearing material in bauxite and separate it from impurities. The dissolved material is then processed to recover alumina, which ultimately feeds aluminium production. That makes caustic soda more than just another industrial chemical. Its availability, price and efficient use can influence the economics of alumina refining and, by extension, the wider aluminium value chain. As India expands its alumina and aluminium capacity, the requirement for this chemical is also becoming increasingly important. For companies...
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Chalco’s Henan alumina refinery shuts down due to break in waste-pool
Reuter reported that an alumina production facility in Henan, owned by the Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco), closed down earlier this week due to a break in the waste pool as reported by executives from two different aluminum smelters on Thursday. On Tuesday night, the walls of the pool that holds all the waste matter broke said the two executives who work for aluminium smelters that do direct business with the Henan smelter. Attempts to contact with the Chalco spokesperson failed as they did not receive the phone calls made after hours nor have they replied to any emails for comment. The closure of this alumina refinery would further push up the domestic alumina prices that are already on a rise this month due to a healthy demand in the market. The Henan refinery had the production...
China’s Qinghai to Bring up Aluminum Fabricating Capacity to 1.79-million-tonne in 2014
A total of 957,000 tonnes of new aluminum fabricating capacities will be added late this year in Qinghai, local media reported. The newly-increased capacities will bring up the province’s total aluminum fabricating capacities to 1.789 million tonnes in 2014, it added. Besides, high-value added capacities will reach up to 800,000 tonnes, accounting for 44.7% of its total.
Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology is inventing a ‘fibre-reinforced aluminium’
The Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology is conducting a research to come up with a new aluminium-based material that is being called the ‘fibre-reinforced aluminium’. The new material is supposedly 30% stronger than aluminium, and lighter and less expensive than steel making it a possible replacement for steel and cement in buildings. The construction of this new material is being done on the nano-level where the structure of carbon and aluminium is being altered so that they fuse together without the use of glue. In buildings, a layered combination of gypsum, foam and other materials with the new material is said to save 50% of energy. The gaps in the building that leak the air out of the rooms causing more consumption of energy to heat or cool the room can be restricted...
AFCO to build aluminum facility in Olmsted, Illinois
Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois announced the opening of an aluminum manufacturing facility in Olmsted by Louisiana-based AFCO Industries. The plant is expected to create 19 jobs and drive the economy forward. “We are grateful for AFCO’s commitment to Southern Illinois,” Quinn said in a press release. "Manufacturers like AFCO are major contributors to Illinois' economy and support our local communities. I welcome AFCO to Illinois, where our hardworking men and women are second to none." According to AFCO they have chosen Olmsted in Pulaski County considering its easy access to AFCO’s customer base, cost benefits and quality labor force. “As a 68-year-old, 100-percent employee-owned company, we are looking forward to being good corporate citizens of the state of Illinois,” AFCO Chairman...
Novelis and World Wildlife Fund partner to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced the company has been accepted into World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Climate Savers program, an exclusive initiative of WWF to encourage companies to reduce their operational carbon footprint and act as agents of change within their sphere of influence. The only metals company to be accepted into the program, Novelis has made commitments to WWF to continue pursuing its aggressive sustainability targets designed to reduce Novelis' impact on climate and ensure the sustainability of Novelis' business efforts. Phil Martens, Novelis President and Chief Executive Officer said, "At Novelis, we believe that reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the amount of recycled materials we use, decreasing water and energy use in...
Bosnia’s Aluminij smelter signs a repayment deal to ease debt
Aluminij Mostar, Bosnia’s aluminium smelter revealed on Wednesday that they were slowly recovering from their slump after a debt settlement was approved by the regional government with the state-owned power board EPHZHB. The smelter, which is the only one in the Balkan country as well as a top exporter, was on the rocks for some time narrowly escaping closure several times throughout 2013 and 2014 due to its growing debt burden. The high electricity charges along with the falling aluminium price had crippled Aluminij like many other smelters across the world. EPHZHB had blocked Aluminij’s bank accounts and threatened to cut power supply in March after debt had accumulated over previous 15 months. The 44% owner of the smelter, that is, the government of the autonomous Bosniak-Croat...
To help Vedanta, Orissa nudges Centre for Karlapat bauxite mines
Orissa chief secretary on Wednesday urged the Union mines ministry to reserve Karlapat bauxite mines in Kalahandi for the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation. This comes a week after Vedanta Resources chief Anil Agarwal met chief minister Naveen Patnaik seeking his help for bauxite mines for the 1 million tonne per annum bauxite refinery in Lanjigarh block of the same district. OMC had entered into a MoU with Sesa Sterlite (earlier Vedanta Aluminum) for mining Niyamgiri hilltop in Kalahandi district jointly, but the plan came unstuck in August 2010 after protests from local tribals and environmental activists. The Anil Agarwal-owned company is running the plant with bauxite sourced from outside Orissa. Agarwal had met Patnaik seeking his help in getting alternative bauxite mines for his...
China’s alumina prices rise as smelters and traders stock up
Alumina prices in China are on a high as smelters increase their alumina purchases from domestic and international markets with plans to restart soon and with traders stocking up on alumina on anticipation of further price hike in the future. The strong aluminium buying trend is likely to push up the price of raw materials which has already risen by 10 percent since June for delivery to China. Since merchants are building their stocks and smelters are looking to increase their production, prices might remain strong for the rest of the year, a trading manager at a private alumina producer said. The colder northwestern provinces like Xinjiang, which is in fact the largest aluminium producing region, are buying in bulk to stalk up on alumina for the winter when the rail and road...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. raised to buy at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. Goldman Sachs currently has $7.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $4.24. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. opened at 5.16 on Friday. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $2.21 and a 1-year high of $5.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.42 and a 200-day moving average of $3.98. The company’s market cap is $355.3 million. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. last released its earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $345.00 million for...
Nalco jumps on bargain hunting
National Aluminium Company rose 6.94% to INR 64.75 at 11:50 IST on BSE on bargain hunting after the stock fell 8.47% in the preceding three trading sessions to INR 60.55 on 16 September 2014, from a recent high of INR 66.15 on 11 September 2014. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 98.47 points, or 0.37%, to 26,590.98. On BSE, so far 6.58 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 10.21 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 66.20 and a low of INR 61.15 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of INR 67.60 on 11 September 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of INR 31.50 on 26 September 2013. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 16 September 2014, rising 7.07% compared with 1.49% rise in the Sensex....
The record high premiums likely to push up aluminium supply contracts in 2015
Due to the record high spot market premiums on rising demand and supply cutback aluminium supply contracts for European consumers are expected to double up next year. Aluminium premiums which is paid over the LME aluminium cash prices, have climbed up to a record high of $460-480 per tonne in September for duty-paid metal in Rotterdam, from $450-460 in August. Premiums have had a 60 percent rise since the beginning of 2014 due to the rising demand and capacity cutbacks from major aluminium producers. According to traders there is an air of uncertainty about the premiums which would most likely prompt buyers to opt for the quarterly contracts rather than locking-in yearly supply deals. Even last year the uncertainty surrounding premiums drove people to favor short term deals. Premiums were...
Shapiro Metals to open new plant
Shapiro Metals, a nonferrous scrap metal recycling firm, has announced plans to open a scrap metal facility in Wichita, Kansas, by the middle of October 2014. The new facility will give the St. Louis-based metals recycling firm 10 locations in the United States. Bruce Shapiro, CEO of Shapiro Metals, says the new facility will measure 25,000 square feet and will focus primarily on handling nonferrous scrap metals generated by the industrial sector. No retail services will be offered at the location. Equipment at the site will include a baler, roll-off containers and other nonferrous scrap processing equipment. The location will employee roughly six people, the company says. Shapiro Metals says it decided to open the facility in Wichita at the request of a customer. “A customer of ours...
Aluminium and other base metals trend higher in China - ASIA METALS
The news of People’s Bank of China (PBoC) providing CNY 100 billion of lending facility each to China’s five largest banks to boost liquidity has created ripples in the Asian trading sector. The prices of base metals continue to trend higher on Wednesday’s Asian trade after the news had broken out overnight. All major US indices closed higher on Tuesday, led by the Nasdaq and S&P 500 which closed 0.75 percent higher. In Asia, most stocks were trading higher as well, with the Hang Seng up more than a percent, Shanghai Composite up 0.15 percent and the STI up 0.47 percent. Aluminium bounced back to $2,000 on Tuesday, closing at a price of $2,026 and surged to $2,033 per tonne on Wednesday morning. “Fundamentals-wise, some may argue they are pretty weak with oversupply and high inventories;...
Aluminium forming company receives £300,000 investment
Warwickshire aluminium forming company Impression Technologies has announced a £300,000 to further aid growth. The company specialises in developing processes that maximise the strength and lightweight properties of aluminium in the automotive sector, where it works on weight reduction to impact on lowering CO2 emissions. The investment, acquired through Mercia Fund Management, will be used to fund further R&D of the patented aluminium forming processes, manufacture demonstration parts and build a technical and commercial team as the company continues to target automakers. Impression Technologies is already part of one UK government sponsored research programme, in automotive with Lotus Cars and other UK partners and one EU sponsored project in the aerospace and automotive fields, with 15...
Aluminium shown to last longer in buildings: Study
Aluminium used in iconic buildings around the world is expected to remain in tip top condition for decades longer than first anticipated, researchers have found. A study, led by renowned architect Prof. Michael Stacey on behalf of the International Aluminium Institute, examined buildings ranging from Cribbs Causeway retail park in Bristol to the FT Printing Works in London and USB Offices, 1 Finsbury Avenue, also in London. After poring over their findings, the report’s authors are recommending that: - Coated aluminium used in buildings is now being given warranties of up to 40 years. - Aluminium used in window frames should be given a service life of 80 years, an upward revision of 40 years - Aluminium used internally has an infinite lifespan - Coated aluminium has also stood the test of...
Sapa moving a section of Guelph facility to Mississauga
Sapa has decided to close its Guelph facility in Ontario after they reviewed the aluminium market in Canada. The facility is located at a prime location that facilitated valuable fabrication and horizontal paint capacity, despite that, Sapa plans to close the facility so that they can optimize on Canada’s current need. They are hoping to enhance operational capabilities and offer extruded aluminium products that is better suited to Canada’s requirement. Sapa is shifting its fabrication project from the current location to its sister location in nearby Mississauga. The paint section of the Guelph facility will be distributed among regional paint partners. The company is aiming at a smooth transition for the affected customers and employees as well as the sister location. Around 15 people...
Sherwin Alumina employees negotiating to prevent strike
Employees of Sherwin Alumina are negotiating with the company to avert a possible strike or lockout. The 600 hourly and salary workers at the Gregory plant have been working with the company through their union since July 8 to come up with a new contract before a Sept. 30 deadline. According to the United Steel Workers Union website, Sherwin Alumina is seeking to freeze benefit pensions, eliminate retiree healthcare and make big changes to active employee healthcare. Sherwin Alumina officials responded to 3News' questions about the negotiations late Wednesday afternoon. "There's just a bunch of proposals on the table that they're still discussing, and they will continue to exchange proposals and really get a fair agreement on both sides, because they're our family," said Sarah Barnes,...
Hindalco’s six bauxite mine will be issued renewed leases by six months
As Hindalco Industries Ltd waits for its mining lease to be renewed in Jharkhand, they say that they are not too concerned about the wait and neither should it interfere with the performance of the company. In a note to National Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Hindalco explains that their renewals should take six months more but that should not affect the company adversely as they have sufficient stock at hand and since they own more mines around the area, they should have no problem supplying bauxite to alumina refineries like Muri and Renukoot. Mint reports on 15 September, that a state government official was quoted as saying that five Hindalco bauxite mines were closed at the Lohardaga district by the Jharkhand government. The closure on 10 September was apparently due to their deemed or...
