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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Bauxite Resources shares rise by 43.5%
Bauxite Resources shares have risen 43.5% to an intra-day high of $0.165 today from a close of $0.115 prompting the ASX to issue a price and volume query. In response, the company said it was unaware of any reason not already announced that could explain the recent trading. However, it noted that it had recently completed a $0.04 per share capital return to shareholders that was approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting and paid yesterday. It has also reached a conditional settlement with a proposed shareholder class action against the Company before commencement of any proceedings. BAU had in July increased the Resource at its Athena bauxite deposit in the Darling Range, Western Australia by 59% to 36.2 million tonnes grading 32.8% (low temp) available alumina (41.8%...
Faulders Studio installs aluminium cloud canopy over Portland science centre entrance
Faulders Studio has completed an overhead sculptural canopy at the main entrance to the Portland State University’s Science, Teaching, and Research Centre. Inspired by light-filtering effects and spatial layering, the ‘Entrium Light Cloud’ comprises of a dynamic arrangement of curving aluminium fins, which have been laser cut into lace-like formations. Architect Thom Faulders describes the resulting patterns as being evocative of “vectorial weather flows, topographical contours, wave oscillations, and amorphous cellular clusters.” The asymmetrical contours of the entrium create open voids in the lightweight canopy, allowing daylight to filter onto the building’s entry platform and stairs. On overcast days the aluminium surface produces a subtle reflective glow, while on sunny days its...
Constellium joins research consortium led by MIT to improve design of automotive structural componentsNew simple page
Constellium N.V. announced today that it has joined the Industrial Fracture Consortium established by Professor Tomasz Wierzbicki from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The consortium will engage in research to develop and improve modeling and mathematical simulations software designed to predict the behaviors of the structural components during forming and crash, which are amongst the most important performance evaluation criteria in automotive engineering. “Our collaboration in the Industrial Fracture Consortium is strategic for Constellium in the context of the strong demand for lightweight aluminum solutions for automotive Body-in-White. It will strengthen our modeling and material testing skills and our technical network, with open innovation at stake,” said Bruno Chenal,...
Alcoa signs multiyear supply contract with Boeing valued at more than $1 billion
Leading aerospace manufacturer Alcoa has signed a long-term contract to supply aluminum sheet and plate products to Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. The multiyear contract, valued at more than $1 billion, is the largest ever between the two companies. “This historic agreement not only continues the 35-year Alcoa-Boeing partnership, it will take our collaboration on next-generation metallic technologies even further,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud that Alcoa's lightweight structural solutions will continue to fly on Boeing’s most advanced aircraft today, and that our metallic science leadership will contribute to the Boeing aircraft of...
Will Ebola in West Africa Affect China’s Aluminum Industry? SMM Analysis
Mining operations and ore shipments have been halted and disrupted by the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, which has claimed thousands of lives in the region. Will Ebola in West Africa affect the Chinese aluminum industry, or in which ways? Annual output of bauxite in Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, three virus-stricken countries, accounts for 7.81 per cent of world’s total, slightly lower than Indonesia’s 10 per cent. Chinese enterprises have been looking for new suppliers since Indonesia’s export ban on unprocessed ores, and African countries have become new choices. However, the impact on Chinese aluminum industry should be small for the foreseeable future from the ongoing Ebola crisis in West African countries, Liu Xiaolei, SMM’s aluminum analyst expects. “Africa now is not a...
Rusal set to team up with Chalco to set up East Siberia smelter
According to Reuter’s report, Rusal Plc, world’s largest aluminium producer is proposing to enter into a joint venture with China’s top aluminum producer to start a project in Russia’s Eastern Siberia, as confessed by the deputy CEO of Rusal on Wednesday. The proposed tie-up between Rusal and Chalco, two aluminium giants, will be primarily to explore the profitable locale of Eastern Russia with its rich mineral deposits, proximity to China and hydropower potential, Oleg Mukhamedshin declared while he was attending the World Economic Forum meeting in China’s Tianjin city. Rusal had earlier shelved the Eastern Siberia project due to the global overcapacity of aluminium and the company’s poor balance sheets. However, they had expressed their interest of teaming up with Chinese partners to...
Bullish view on aluminium price recovery proves beneficial for Press Metal
It is the time for Press Metal Bhd (Press Metal) to shine as analysts expect the group to ride on aluminium price recovery and margin expansion in its Manufacturing and Trading (M&T) to drive earnings growth. According to the research arm of Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga Research), it holds a bullish view on aluminium prices, premised on the increasing popularity of aluminium in the auto industry as a steel alternative, growing demand in emerging markets, and declining global production rates. Thus, Kenanga Research expects aluminium prices to increase to an average of US$1900 per metric tonne (MT) (+3 per cent) in financial year 2014 estimate (FY14E) and US$2100 per MT (+11 per cent) in FY15E. “Based on our sensitivity analysis, every US$100/MT increase in aluminum prices could...
The aluminium-bodied 2015 F-150 being put to the test
Ford Motor is all set to test the aluminium bodied F-150. The car that is going to be released later this year is currently touring 26 cities for demonstration and introducing the sales personnel to the new pick up trucks. This aluminium truck has created a lot of interest in the auto industry since few cars have been made up almost entirely of aluminium and F-150 will be the first pick up truck to do so. The switch to the lighter metal Ford was able to cutback 700 pounds from the nation’s best-selling pick up truck. Although the official fuel saving estimates has not been released yet, analysts are positive that it will be much better than the previous versions. Ford claims that the new 2015 F-150 is not compromising on its sturdiness thanks to the aluminium body and steel chassis...
Window of opportunity at Fesqua 2014
Fesqua 2014 has turned São Paulo into the world city of fenestration. Sapa’s Brazilian organization is showing its variety of high-end aluminium solutions, including a new window system that offers acoustic reduction performance that leads the market. Fesqua is considered the most important showcase for the glass, window and door industry in Latin America. Organized every second year, the four-day exhibition brings together a wide variety of hardware, fittings and components, all types of equipment – and materials. Window of opportunity at Fesqua 2014“ This is the most important fair for windows in Latin America, and the first for us as the new Sapa,” says Erivam Boff, who leads Sapa’s commercial team in Brazil. “We’re excited about showing the value that our solutions are adding to the...
JNARDDC Nagpur develops bricks from red mud
If the city-based Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Design and Development Centre (JNARDDC) has its way, 'red mud', a waste generated in huge quantity (one to two times of alumina produced) from the aluminium industry, can now act as a good source of building material. In fact, Modi government's ambitious plan of 'home for every family' by 2022 which includes 2 crore houses in urban area and 4.5 crore in rural, could use these materials if JNARDDC can convince their utility to the government. JNARDDC had developed two different types of bricks (hard brick and foam brick) and a special kind of ceramic tile removing all the hazardous waste properties of the red mud under a Asia Pacific technology Development Project for Clean Climate (AP-7) in 2010-11. But the important achievement of the...
CFTC keeps a close eye on LME warehousing policies
Commodity Futures Trading Commission is still keeping a close eye on the London Metal Exchange after countless complaints against this 137 year old exchange stating that they are manipulating the price through their warehousing policies. Timothy Massad, who is the newly installed chairman of the CFTC, spoke to Reuters to state that the regulator is still in touch with LME while it is preparing to launch a new aluminium contract amid the complaints that the global aluminium pricing is faulty. Massad admitted that they were in dialogue with LME regarding the various issues, which is the first comments in a year on the subject, after Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and MillerCoors LLC had lodged complaints about the long waiting time for the deliveries and exceptional high prices. According to...
Trimet adds new electrolytic furnaces to its Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne smelter
Trimet is one step closer to achieving full capacity as its opens additional electrolytic furnaces at its Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne aluminium smelter. This medium sized family enterprise plans to invest a total sum of 100 million euros in the next three years to expand production at its France sites. Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister of Economic Affairs visited the Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne smelter on Saturday, September 6, 2014. The new electrolytic furnaces were put into operation at a formal commissioning ceremony where the entire staff was present. Trimet’s owner Heinz-Peter Schlüter and the Minister jointly inaugurated the new furnaces by giving the starting signal for the production line F. This section was decommissioned in 2009 and had been undergoing rigorous repairs over the past...
Queensland Bauxite is all set to produce the South Johnson Scoping Study in Sep-Oct
Queensland Bauxite is all set to present its Scoping Study by the end of September or in October on its South Johnstone Bauxite project. After Indonesia announced a ban on the export of its unprocessed mineral ores, the bauxite market has become open to new companies who can get launch their product in the market soon in the short to medium term. The rising bauxite prices are proving the recent demand. China, who is the largest producer and consumer of aluminium, has been seriously affected by the Indonesian ban as other sources are not able to meet its requirements. Chinese bauxite stockpiles are expected to run out by 2015. If the South Johnstone project takes off it will be in a very profitable position to ride the bauxite wave thanks to the highly established infrastructure which...
Increased car sales in US boost aluminium prices
The cash price of aluminium has risen from $1,725.93 per tonne in January to $2,029.55 per tonne, which is the current price. The overall jump in the LME aluminium prices is recorded at 15% since the beginning of the year. Mintec explains that the price rise is largely due to the falling aluminium stocks on LME since January by 11% to 4.8 million tonnes leading to a situation where the supply is hitting a two year low in the face of a high demand market. The demand now is threatening to exceed the supply by 1.8 million tonnes in 2014 where the majority of the demand is driven by the increased car sales in the US which is at an eight-year high. The car manufacturers are now directly affecting the aluminium market as they are using the metal more and more to produce lighter and more fuel...
North American primary aluminum shipments totaled 1,143 thousand metric tons in Q2
Shipments of primary aluminum by North American (U.S. and Canada) producers totaled 1,143 thousand metric tonnes (kmt) in the second quarter of 2014, down 6.4 percent from the second quarter 2013 total of 1,221 kmt. Shipments of primary billet were up seven-tenths of one percent year-over-year while shipments of foundry increased 8.3 percent during the same period. Compared to the previous quarter, total shipments of primary increased 1.1 percent. During first six months of 2014, shipments totaled 2,273 kmt, off 6.9 percent from the 2013 total of 2,443 kmt. There have been some interesting developments in the market as of late. The London Metal Exchange (LME) released its Commitment of Traders report, the LME 3-month aluminum price has continued to climb, and some decisions have been made...
Conditional settlement of legal action against BRL
Bauxite Resources Limited (Company) has made several announcements about a proposed shareholder class action against the Company. The Company has today executed a conditional agreement to settle that claim, prior to any proceedings having been commenced. The claim was proposed on behalf of individuals and entities (described in the claim as group members) who acquired shares in the Company in the October 2009 placement of 60 million shares at $0.95 each. It included allegations that the Company engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in marketing the 2009 placement. A separate claim was foreshadowed in respect of certain of the group members’ on-market purchases. Subject to certain conditions being met by the group members including a vote by them to accept the settlement, the Company...
Elkhart firm's expansion could result in 25 new jobs
An Elkhart firm plans to expand and add 25 new jobs in the next three years. Those intentions came to light Monday, Sept. 8, when representatives of Sapa Extruder Inc., requested a three-year tax abatement from the Elkhart City Council. Sapa Extruder plans to invest $6 million in new construction and equipment as part of expansion that will include a new extrusion press and shipping area at its facility on Reedy Drive, on the city’s north side. The company manufactures aluminum extrusions that are used for numerous industries, including automotive and mass transit. The average hourly wage for the new positions will be $15.85, according to paperwork provided by the city. If approved, the tax abatement would allow the company to save $93,999 in personal property taxes and $152,235 in real...
Hongqiao sells shares worth $275.9 million to pay down debt
One of China’s largest aluminium producers, China Hongqiao Group resorted to selling off some of their stocks raising $220 million to pay off some debts and buy some upstream assets. On Thursday, 4th September, the Shandong province based company sold its shares at a rate of HK$6.19 per share which is a 9% discount from the September 3rd closing rate of HK$6.81, as recorded in a term sheet viewed by FinanceAsia. The ultimate sell rate was at the lower end of the initial range of $HK6.19 to $HK6.36 per unit which was already at a discount of 6.6% to 9.1% to the September 3rd closing rate. Within hours after China Hongqiao launched the deal in Hong Kong, the books were covered which is largely due to the broad-based investor interest, as reported by close sources. The majority of the orders...
