In August 2026, unwrought aluminium alloy exports were 51,600 tonnes, up 77.6 per cent YoY but down 11.9 per cent M-o-M. Cumulative exports from January to August 2026 were 348,700 tonnes, up 100.1 per cent Y-o-Y. By import source, in August 2026, China’s imports of unwrought aluminium alloy were highly concentrated in Russia and Southeast Asian countries. The top five sources that month—Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea—totalled 55,200 tonnes, accounting for 77.2 per cent of total imports. Specifically, Russia ranked first with 18,000 tonnes (25 per cent), followed closely by Malaysia with 17,500 tonnes (24 per cent); Thailand recorded 11,500 tonnes (16 per cent), Vietnam 4,800 tonnes (7 per cent), and South Korea 3,400 tonnes (5 per cent). By export destination, Japan...
Futures: SHFE aluminium closed at RMB 24,375 per tonne in the previous trading session, edging down 0.04 per cent. The price stood above the MA10 (24,304) and MA30 (24,089.5), but slightly below the MA5 (24,258). Short-term moving averages flattened, while the medium-term bullish alignment remained intact, with the market consolidating at highs overall. On the MACD indicator, DIF=129.53 and DEA=139.74. DIF stayed above the zero axis but maintained a death cross, with the histogram at -20.43, indicating weakening bullish momentum and lingering short-term correction pressure. Trading volume rebounded slightly to 54,800 lots, with moderate market activity. The suggested core trading range for SHFE aluminium is 24,000-24,600. LME aluminium closed at USD 3,293.5 per tonne, down 0.20 per cent....
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According to the International Aluminium Institute, primary aluminium production in Africa rebounded to 135,000 tonnes in December 2020, following a decline in the previous month. On a month-on-month calculation, Africa’s primary aluminium production grew in December by 6,000 tonnes or 4.65 per cent from 129,000 tonnes, which was down by 7,000 tonnes or 5.15 per cent from 136,000 tonnes in October 2020. On a year-on-year basis, Africa’s December output stood 2.88 per cent lower than 139,000 tonnes. Africa’s total primary aluminium production in the fourth quarter of 2020 amounted to 400,000 tonnes, down by 1,000 tonnes from 401,000 tonnes in the third quarter of the year. On a year-on-year basis, the output stood lower by 10,000 tonnes or 2.44 per cent from 410,000 tonnes. In the entire...
Three-month LME aluminium climbed 0.15% to close at US$2,023 per tonne on Tuesday, with open interest falling to 739,000 lots. It is expected to trade between US$1,990-2,050 per tonne today. As of Tuesday January 26, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2025 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2025 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2018 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2018 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 2090 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 2090 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1419775 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1164825 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 254950 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 2004.81per tonne. SHFE Aluminium Price Trend Benchmark aluminium...
Emirates Global Aluminium has accomplished a major periodic refurbishment of its Potline 3 at Al Taweelah, one of the longest and most productive potlines in the world. The reduction cells (or ‘pots’) in which aluminium is smelted mandate re-lining after several years of production. During the refurbishment of the 444 reduction cells in Potline 3, EGA installed steel collector bars with copper inserts, designed within the company to improve performance. Copper has the best electrical conductivity of any metal. Its use in the collector bars reduces power consumption and unit greenhouse gas emissions and enables increased productivity as the reduction cells can be run at higher amperage. As extra voltage becomes available in the power supply system, this will also open opportunities to...
Vedanta Limited has expanded its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices for the second consecutive time, with effect from Tuesday, January 26. The company has raised its aluminium ingot price to INR 169,500-182,500 per tonne from INR 167,250-180,250 per tonne on January 21. This records an increase of INR 2,250 per tonne over the last four days. Vedanta’s aluminium wire rod price is hovering around INR 177,000-184,500 per tonne, as of January 26, growing by INR 2,250 per tonne as well from INR 174,750-182,250 per tonne. With the latest hike, Vedanta’s aluminium billets price has come in at INR 177,500 per tonne compared with INR 175,250 per tonne on January 21. Vedanta Limited links the prices of its aluminium products and aluminium ingot to the three-month futures of aluminium on...
Three-month LME aluminium rose 1.28 per cent to close at US$ 2,020 per tonne on Monday, January 25, with open interest rising to 740,000 lots. Schumer, the leader of the Senate Majority Party, said that he would strive to launch a round of programs by mid-March at the latest, and the US$ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill faced the risk of delaying. Under the cautious mood, the US dollar index rebounded. It is expected to trade between US$ 1,990 per tonne and US$ 2,050 per tonne today. LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price soared by US$ 36 per tonne to surpass the mark of US$ 2000 per tonne on Monday, January 25. The prices started the week at US$ 2011.50 per tonne versus US$ 1992.50 per tonne on Friday, January 22. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price stood at...
Century Aluminum Company, a global producer of primary aluminium and operates aluminium reduction facilities in the United States and Iceland supports and praises Executive Order signed into law on 25 th January 2021 by President Biden to support domestic manufacturers, businesses, and American workers. This Executive Order is an essential part of US economic recovery as the nation work to rebuild the critical manufacturing base and domestic supply chains while ensuring that the future is made in America by all of America’s workers. Century Aluminium operates three U.S. aluminium smelters, in Hawesville and Robards in Kentucky and Mt. Holly in South Carolina, and one smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland. Michael Bless, CEO of Century Aluminum, said: “Manufacturing is the backbone of our great...
The clamour for using aluminium alloys in lightweight structures in environmentally friendly vehicles is seriously muted by weldability limitations of aluminium alloys. Welded aluminium alloy structures are weak, inconsistent and do not perform well in corrosive environments or when loaded cyclically in fatigue loading. Thick-thin structures with unfavourable thickness ratios are difficult to weld together. Robotic arc welds are notoriously inconsistent. The aluminium industry needs to lead and facilitate large-scale and high-quality welding technology implementation. They should not depend on the welding houses to do this and not be oblivious to the shortcomings of the vehicle manufacturers’ aluminium welding technology capabilities. Because of these issues, a number of opportunities are...
Performances of the Aluminium Industry are stressed not only to increase productivity while reducing costs, but also to improve environmental protection and preservation. Reduction of carbon footprint across the entire Aluminium production the chain is, therefore, a binding demand to the metal producers. Efficiency improvement in the metal production process well answers the demand to reduce production costs while at the same time protecting and preserving the environment. Recent reports are showing a decrease in the carbon intensity of the Primary Aluminium Production. Europe is leading the ranks in the decrease of the carbon footprint of its primary production. Several projects and studies are focused to reduce the emission of CO 2 and greenhouse gases, being a major challenge for the...
Aluminium is at the very heart of the sustainable industrial revolution, a ‘green’, highly-recyclable metal lauded for its superior physical and chemical properties that can technically last forever. However, elements of the production process are, undeniably, damaging to the environment, the production of grain refiner, for one. As a specialist in the field, the addition of grain refiner in the production of billets and slabs is absolutely vital for eliminating cracking, waste and poor quality material and ensuring better quality finished products. But its manufacture does produce noxious fluoride emissions. To make one tonne of grain refiner, you need 117 kg KBF 4 and 251 kg K 2 TiF 6 . This equates to 368kg of fluoride salts per ton of GR produced, or around 36,800t consumed per year...
By Miles Prosser, Secretary General, International Aluminium Institute Aluminium use has always been driven by the metal’s superior qualities. In the 136 years since the Washington Monument was capped with aluminium in 1884 for its conductivity, colour and non-staining qualities, aluminium has become an integral part of our lives. Seventy-five per cent of all the aluminium ever produced is still in use today, a function of the long lifetimes of many aluminium products, accelerated demand for the metal (particularly post 2000) and high recycling rates. As economies and societies enter a new phase post the Covid pandemic, the expectations on aluminium and our industry are changing, but we are well placed to meet and exceed them. Products will not only have to be fit for purpose, but they...
On 25 th January 2021, Hisham Tawfik, Minister of Public Business Sector announced that “Egypt’s government is warming up to implement the modernisation project of Egyptalum, a national company for aluminium industries listed in EGX as Egypt Aluminium (EGAL).” Tawfik also stated: “US-based Bechtel, the project consultant, is expected to finalise the project’s feasibility study by mid-2021.” “The project includes the replacement of old parts over two phases and adopting new technology that uses less electricity intending to increase the company’s production capacity to reach 250,000 tonnes annually”, according to the minister. Hisham Tawfik added that six international companies participated in the public tender the ministry conducted to provide consulting services and prepare feasibility...
When I joined Vedanta’s aluminium plant over a decade back, it was with the dream to work in one of the greatest aluminium smelters on the planet. Over the three decades of my experience in the Indian manufacturing industry, has allowed me to witness the transformation and evolution of the Aluminium industry into becoming India’s fastest growing metal and with its multiple applications across sectors being well poised to drive India towards becoming a self-reliant nation. The clarion call of an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) from our Hon’ble Prime Minister is seeing Indians working on a war footing to fulfil this vision. The fortuitous offshoot of this has seen the creation of millions of mini entrepreneurs looking to shape their destiny and contribute to India’s future. Today...
The green transition is a business opportunity We often talk about the green transition as something that belongs to the future. But the green transition is happening now and it’s full of opportunities. It’s not about what we have to sacrifice, but rather about new business opportunities that will be both sustainable and profitable. As an energy and aluminium company Hydro has a great responsibility to respond to the megatrends of our time, such as sustainability, electrification and urbanization. Just as important, we also see great business opportunities in applying our capabilities to match these megatrends. Therefore, we spent parts of 2020 establishing a new strategic direction toward 2025, building on our profitability and sustainability agenda. We have a great starting point, with...
Alcoa Corporation revealed a full-year revenue of US$ 9,286 million for 2020 and US$ 2,392 million for the fourth quarter of the year. The full-year revenue stood down by 11 per cent year-on-year, while the fourth quarter revenue stood almost flat quarter-on-quarter. As a consequence, adjusted net income (loss) increased for the full year of 2020 from US$ 184 million in 2019 to US$ 215 million. In the fourth quarter, on the other hand, it decreased 77.52 per cent over the quarter and14.04 per cent on the year. Alcoa’s adjusted EBITDA excluding special items in 2020 stood at US$ 1,151 million, down by 30.50 per cent from US$ 1,656 million in a year ago. In the fourth quarter of the year, it increased by 27.11 per cent quarter-on-quarter from US$ 284 million to US$ 361 million; while over...
Want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting global aluminium demand? Here are the pathways Delivering emission reductions while meeting growing demand is a challenge to which the aluminium industry must rise in the coming years. However, there’s no simple fix to this, it’s not simply an environmental issue. Economic, political, social, logistical, and technological factors make this a complex process and variations in approaches will be required to deliver a solution. The unique qualities of aluminium make it an essential metal in the consumer goods we use daily, for example in mobile devices, and this is not about to change. There’s an overwhelming reliance on aluminium to make things work and to deliver them. Construction, transportation, telecommunications are just a few...
Efficiency in furnaces tending operations T.T. Tomorrow Technology SpA has been producing machines for more than 20 years for casthouses and anode plants. The board of directors responsible for this joint stock company and its entire staff are well prepared for the new challenges in the aluminium industry and for the new scenario brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The high ability to understand the customers’ needs for innovative solution, the flexibility in adapting the products, the perfect design and high-quality components characterize the company. This article describes the advantages of the current range of equipment for dross removal and furnace cleaning. T.T. Tomorrow Technology, which is located in Due Carrare near Padua, Italy, has always been focused on providing the best...
COVID-19 outbreak has been an unexpected global crisis that has resulted in health and social distress across the world in 2020. Like every other industry, this pandemic took its toll on the global aluminium business and Alba was not an exception. The Pandemic reiterated that nothing is more important than our Health and Safety. Alba was swift to deal with this crisis by activating its Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity Plans, along with proactive COVID-19 initiatives for both employees and contractors’ personnel. Alba’s COVID-19 response was initiated as early as January 2020 and numerous measures were put in place to educate and protect our people -- personal video awareness messages; work-from-home and reduced working-hours; plant-wide temperature checks for all working...
Even with the challenges of 2020, the global aluminium industry and the various markets it supports are coming back, with the automotive industry seeing more demand and packaging production holding strong. As companies focus on “building back better” in the aftermath of the pandemic, the environment remains a crucial priority. Many organizations, including ALTEK, are having conversations with customers regarding what they can do to meet their sustainability objectives. Organizations are still prioritizing sustainability amid COVID-19 because of existing corporate social responsibility goals and mandates they need to meet. The circumstances of the past year prompted many in the industry to reflect on what is important to them and what their values are. Our travel habits changed, we flew...
