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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Aluminium Prices on a high while Copper dips
A suspected short-term shortage of aluminium has caused the price rise witnessed on Tuesday while an expected additional supply of copper has dipped its prices in the market. A 1% rise has been noticed on the London Metal Exchange in benchmark aluminum pushing the price to a closing of $ 2,039 a tonne. Aluminium price curve is moving forward showing constant signs of supply constraint. In the same line, cash trading on Monday is closing at its highest against the benchmark three-month contract since 2012 December. In mid-June a sharp decline in discount of cash aluminum was noticed, from $44.25 a tonne to $1.25, indicating that in the future the supply of aluminium is going to be restricted. Standard Bank analyst, Leon Westgate echoes the same prediction stating, "The upward move is...
Spot demand and overseas predictions spike aluminum value
Strong spot demands and firming overseas trend have edged the aluminium price to INR 123.40 per kg, up by 45 paise, in future trade on Wednesday. This 0.37% rise in prices was noticed for aluminium slated for August delivery at the Multi Commodity Exchange. For a business turnover of 205 lots, the price per kg of aluminium is slated as INR 123.40 per kg. Following the trend, even the trade value for aluminium for September delivery has risen by 35 paise to 123.80 per kg in 36 lots, up by 0.28%. Even The aluminium for delivery in three months has gained 1% in the LME standing at USD 2,039 per tonne. Although domestic spot demand is a major cause in the price hike, the changing foreign trends are also adding to the cause. With a speculated increase in home building, a higher demand in the...
Hydro opens test pilot for new anode technology
President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg had the pleasure of opening the pilot line in Årdal on Wednesday. “Innovation and technological expertise has always been a backbone of Hydro, and this project shows that the innovative spirit in Hydro is as strong today as it was more than 100 years ago when the company was founded,” he says. Better on quality and cost According to Head of Technology in Hydro, Hans Erik Vatne, the pilot may represent a leap in the production process for anodes, both in terms of cost and quality. “With the new technology in place, we are able to handle more variations in raw material quality, and we see a potential to reduce the carbon consumption in the electrolytic process,” says Vatne. At the same time, the renewed production process is set to deliver anodes...
MobileMuster recycles old phones
Australians discard 2000 tonnes of mobile phones every year. The average weight of a mobile phone is about 250g – that means four of them weigh a kilogram. There is a saturated market in Australia – virtually every phone is a replacement, which means for virtually every new phone bought, an old one is discarded. People tend not to throw them away, because they were so valuable in the first place. They end up in cupboards and desk drawers. There are about 20 million mobile phones in use in Australia, and the average person gets a new one every two to three years. Let’s say two years and eight months – that means about eight million phones a year are discarded. Multiply it out – 8 million x 250g = 2000 tonnes. A Melbourne tram weighs about 25 tonnes, a Sydney train carriage twice as much....
Constellium to report second quarter results August 28, 2014
Constellium N.V. will announce its second quarter financial results on Thursday, August 28, 2014. A conference call and webcast to present the results will take place at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Day 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 Constellium Investor Relations page. An archive recording of the conference call and accompanying text version will also be available at the above noted web address for three weeks.
Kaiser Aluminum looks to continue to trade above its annual-high share price
Kaiser Aluminum traded today at a new 52-week high of $80.43. So far today approximately 92,000 shares have been exchanged, as compared to an average 30-day volume of 197,000 shares. Kaiser Aluminum is currently priced 1.1% above its average consensus analyst price target of $79.33. The stock should discover initial support at its 50-day moving average (MA) of $74.08 and subsequent support at its 200-day MA of $70.58. Kaiser Aluminum Corporation produces alumina, primary aluminum, and fabricated aluminum products. The Company also supplies alumina and primary aluminum in domestic and international markets. In the past 52 weeks, shares of Kaiser Aluminum have traded between a low of $40.12 and a high of $80.43 and are now at $80.20, which is 100% above that low price. The 200-day and...
Bridge Aluminium gets smart with energy use
An aluminium foundry is turning down the heat – fractionally – on its energy use to earn as much as £25,000 a year. Caparo Bridge Aluminium is installing smart software to adjust the aluminium holding pots to help balance the National Grid’s supply and demand. It will be paid for reducing energy use for minutes at a time. It recently signed the 10 year deal with Open Energi for the ‘Dynamic Demand’ system at its manufacturing site. The Wednesbury-based plant has forty-six holding pots, which store molten aluminium at around 7500C. The material is kept at constant temperatures before it is poured into dies for the manufacture of the casting. Wayne Priest, Plant Director at Bridge Aluminium said: “We are constantly looking at ways of reducing our overheads and energy is a massive part of...
AGL modelling says Hunter power plant and aluminium smelter could close
Gas giant AGL says it is basing forward modelling on conservative assumptions that a newly acquired Hunter Valley power plant and the Tomago Aluminium smelter near Newcastle could close within three years. AGL has finalised its $1.5 billion acquisition of Macquarie Generation, but highlights several risks in a briefing to the stock exchange. It values the Bayswater power plant near Muswellbrook at $780 million, but says the Liddell plant is worth nothing. It says conservative modelling shows the Tomago aluminium smelter shutting in 2017 and as a result the Liddell power plant would close the same year. But AGL says there are many strategic benefits for its assets and plans to upgrade them. The company says it intends to spend $405 million over four years on revised maintenance to reverse...
Hydro tells community group of 10 year plan to get out of Kurri
The owners of the Kurri Kurri aluminium plant have told a recent meeting they have no plans to redevelop the site themselves. The Hydro plant as Kurri Kurri was officially closed earlier this year after being placed in care and maintenance mode about 18 months prior. The company now wants to remediate the site to allow future development. A community reference group has been formed as plans for the site are developed. The group, which met for the first time last month, was told Hydro has 'no ambition to develop the site' itself, 'but rather facilitate the rezoning to ultimately sell the land'. Managing Director Richard Brown said Hydro is not interested in selling the land block by block. Instead, its current thinking is to remediate, rezone and get out relatively quickly. He said the...
Lightweight Jaguar EX to average 75 mpg and emit less than 100 g/km of CO2
Jaguar is proving the fuel-saving benefits of reducing the weight of its cars, with new figures showing that its forthcoming XE compact executive saloon should average more than 75 mpg and emit less than 100 g/km of CO2. Using recycled aluminium, Jaguar has invented a new alloy from which it is building its fifth generation bodyshell technology to deliver world-beating eco-performance, as well as what it says will be class leading refinement and handling. Bonded and riveted aluminium structures are not new – it is how the aerospace industry has been making planes for years – but Jaguar leads the field among mass producers and uses the technology in its XJ, XK and F-Type models. Dr Mark White, Jaguar's Chief Technical Specialist, said: "The Jaguar XE body uses over 75 per cent aluminium...
Aluminium building solution in European ‘first’
A new transport interchange in the UK – the first in Europe to use integrated hydropower – has been built with an energy-efficient aluminium-and-glass façade solution developed by the aluminium building systems brand Wicona. Designed by architects Aedas and built by Kier Construction, the £11.5m project for Transport for Greater Manchester and Rochdale Council has replaced an outdated bus station built in the 1970s. The project is part of a wider redevelopment of the Rochdale town center. Fundamental to the scheme’s design was to construct a fully enclosed single concourse with a high degree of transparency – creating a striking gateway into the town and a statement building, and improving safety and security for bus passengers. Fabricated and installed by Glassolutions Installation,...
Exports drive growth of aluminium foil production in first half of 2014
The European Aluminium Foil Association, EAFA, has reported half year results which continue to show a modest, but steady, recovery in demand for both thin and thicker gauges. This is largely led by a strong showing from exports, which are 28% ahead of 2013. European* deliveries remains flat with demand showing a very small decline of 0.2% compared with last year. In the six month to June overall production was 434,100t, 2.5% above the 2013 figure (423,000t). Thinner gauges, used mainly for flexible packaging and household foils, held steady with growth of just 0.9%, but continuing the increases seen for the last 5 quarters. Thicker gauges, used typically for semi-rigid containers and technical applications, held on to the gains seen in the first quarter, with deliveries running 6.3%...
BHP announces their new $14bn metals and mining company
In a bid to increase productivity and performance, BHP Billiton is allocating some of its assets to a new $14bn (£8.4bn) company. The Chief Finance Officer of BHP, Graham Kerr, will be heading the new spinoff company that is tentatively being called the NewCo, for now. This new company will be dealing with the aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver operations. BHP itself has enjoyed a 23% rise in the annual profits, surprising analysts. The new company will be listed in the Australian stock market soon with a secondary listing in South African market as well. These, however, will be confirmed only after a shareholder vote and an approval by the regulators. Although BHP shares fell by nearly 4% in the London listings post the announcement, BHP officials are hopeful about the change...
Aluminium falls by 0.1% on global cues
Aluminium slipped to INR 122 per kg in futures trade today as participants reduced their exposures amidst weak global cues. Besides, sluggish demand in the domestic spot markets also weighed on the metal's price. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in August eased by 10 paise, or 0.08%, to INR 122 per kg in a business turnover of 248 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in September traded lower by 5 paise, or 0.04%, to INR 122.25 per kg in 10 lots. Marketmen said the weakness in aluminium at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend in the metal at the London Metal Exchange and low demand at domestic spot market.
Port of Oswego says increase in aluminum shipments puts it on pace for record season
The Port of Oswego says its working toward a record year, thanks to an increase in shipments of aluminum coming in through the St. Lawrence Seaway for use at Oswego's Novelis aluminum plant. Port Director Zelko Kirincich says it's been a great year, and that the facility is expecting to receive about 20 barges of aluminum from facilities in Quebec and Ontario. "We made some improvements in the way we handle aluminum, and the market has been rather positive with our local consumer," Kirincich explained. "So the season has actually been above average in terms of our prediction, and we expect the season overall, for us, to be a record season. Somewhere in the neighborhood of plus 25 percent over last year's." Kirincich says increasing demand, combined with Novelis’ expansion, will help the...
Amcor eyes $3 billion in acquisitions
Five years after its transformational $1.9 billion acquisition of Alcan's packaging assets, Amcor is eyeing potential acquisitions worth $3 billion as the global packaging giant seeks further growth in both emerging and developed markets. Amcor chief executive Ken MacKenzie said the pipeline for potential acquisitions had grown from about $2 billion a year ago as the group identified new targets and as vendors took advantage of historically high asset valuations. However, Mr MacKenzie said Amcor, which made four bolt-on acquisitions last year, would maintain a disciplined approach to growth. "We have a 20 per cent pre-tax return on investment hurdle and we have to make sure the acquisitions we make are going to create solid returns for shareholders," Mr MacKenzie told The Australian...
AAR's Nordisk delivers the industry's lightest full-aluminum containers to Korean air
AAR’s Nordisk Aviation Products announced today it has started delivery of 400 Nordisk AluLite AKE air cargo containers to Korean Air. The Nordisk AluLite AKE weighs 65 kg and is the lightest-weight full-aluminium airfreight LD3 container in the industry. “Korean Air continues to favour aluminium because of its simplicity in maintenance and greater recycling benefits. With the Nordisk AluLite, Korean Air also gets the lightest full aluminium AKE container available,” says Boon Yang Sim, Nordisk's Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Asia Pacific and the People’s Republic of China. “Nordisk’s relationship with Korean Air began in 1979 and has leveraged Nordisk’s development of lighter containers for the past 35 years without compromising durability and quality.” Nordisk is the...
Average operating rate at Chinese aluminum FRP producers down to 59.58% in July
Average operating rate at major Chinese aluminum plate/sheet, strip and foil producers fell by 1.49% to 59.58% in July, Shanghai Metals Market survey reveals. The decline in rate, also a year-on-year 2.12% drop, was due mainly to poor orders and shorter production times during hot days, according to SMM survey. The offseason demand, liquidity conditions and stiffer competition are major problems facing those surveyed FRP producers, SMM understands.
