Imports of aluminium and aluminium product drops in North America in the month of May

According to the latest report from Aluminum Association, imports of aluminium ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding crossborder trade) totalled 330,215 tonnes in May 2018, off 20.8 per cent from the May 2017 total of 416,851 tonnes.

Including scrap, which accounted for roughly 56.3 per cent of reported aluminium exports in May, exports totalled 267,619 tonnes, up 7.2 per cent over a year ago. Excluding scrap, exports totalled 117,027 tonnes, essentially unchanged from last year. Exports of scrap increased 13.5 per cent year-over-year in May. Through the first five months of 2018, imports were down slightly to 1.9 million tonnes, while exports were up 13.7 per cent to 1.3 million pounds. The export is driven primarily by scrap. U.S. exports of scrap, not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totalled 536,000 million pounds year-to-date, up 11.2 per cent over like-2017.

Shipments of can stock by domestic producers totalled 155,129 tonnes during June 2018, down 1.2 per cent from the June 2017 total of 156,943 tonnes. Compared to the previous month, shipments decreased 5.0 per cent from the May 2018 revised total of 162,840 tonnes. Compared to June 2017, producer shipments of can stock to U.S. markets were down 2.7 per cent to 130,181 tonnes. Exports of can stock increased 7.7 per cent to 24,494 tonnes.

Shipments of Aluminum Foil and aluminium sheet and plate and by U.S. and Canadian producers also dropped in June. Overall, exports of aluminium and aluminium products continue to increase through the first half of 2018 but imports remained almost flat. Data shows a sudden fall in import in the month of May It is yet to be seen how the proposed aluminium tariffs on aluminium and aluminium semis import by the US and the retaliatory tariffs by a number of importing countries will have an impact on the trading of the US and Canada.