Mexico is approaching the final stages of negotiations with the United States on reducing tariffs on aluminum and steel products, with officials indicating that a deal could significantly lower the effective tariff burden on Mexican exporters. Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, Mexico’s undersecretary of foreign trade, said talks had made progress during the National Auto Parts Industry congress. Discussions covering the automotive sector are targeting a 15% tariff, which could fall to an effective rate of around 4% to 5% after deductions linked to regional value content. The potential reduction would bring Mexico closer to tariff levels faced by competitors including Japan, South Korea and Germany, improving the position of Mexican suppliers in the US market. Explore the production, demand and...
CLSA expects the Odisha High Court’s dismissal of Vedanta Aluminium Metal’s bauxite petition to have a muted medium-term impact, despite a potential one-time liability and higher aluminium production costs. The Odisha High Court dismissed Vedanta Aluminium’s petition seeking bauxite supplies from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) at the historical rate of INR 1,000 (USD 10.38) per tonne. CLSA said the order could result in a one-time financial impact of up to USD 290 million, including interest, while also increasing the company’s aluminium production costs. The brokerage estimated OMC’s claim for historical dues at around INR 2,500 crore (USD 59.50 million) before tax, excluding interest. Including interest, the one-time impact could reach USD 290 million, equivalent to around 2.8 per cent...
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Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd had been named a co-defendant in the class action lawsuits that involves aluminum price fixing on LME, said the company. HKEx, the fourth largest exchange operator in the world, said it was notified about the inclusion of their names in the list of direct purchaser’s consolidated complaint. Manufacturers have filed a total of 26 complaints against the London Metal Exchange, which have been further consolidated into 3 complaints and it will account for 3 different classes of plaintiffs, the company added. "HKEx management's initial assessment is that the lawsuit is without merit and HKEx will contest it vigorously," the company said in a securities filing. Last year, the manufacturers who have filed lawsuits are of the view, enabled by LME rules the banks...
Major aluminium producers in Brazil saw output fall year-on-year in 2013, with only Norsk Hydro’s Albras seeing a slight increase in production, according to figures from Brazilian aluminium association Abal. Albras, located in the city of Barcarena, in Brazil's Pará state, produced 452,300 tonnes of aluminium, compared with 446,700 tonnes in 2012. Votorantim Metais' CBA produced 413,900 tonnes of metal last year, down from 454,900 tonnes in 2012. Alcoa-BHP Billiton operated Alumar, located in São Luís in Maranhão state, saw a production of 339,500 tonnes in 2013, down from 402,400 tonnes the year before. Alcoa's unit in the city of Poços de Caldas, in Minas Gerais state, ended the year with a 19.2% reduction in output at 69,400 tonnes. Novelis' plant in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, also saw...
"Despite challenging market conditions since the financial crisis of 2008/09, aluminium demand has continued to grow and by 2013 had risen above pre-crisis levels. The future is energy-efficient and will need more aluminium. But, aluminium markets are still characterized by historical overproduction, so we will keep up the cost focus in all parts of Hydro and continue the good work performed by the business areas and staffs, characterized by determination, foresight and cooperation, enabling Hydro to move forward with better operational capabilities than ever," President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg writes in his letter to shareholders. "Since 2009 we have managed to reduce the cost of producing one tonne of aluminium by 300 US dollars in our fully-owned primary aluminium plants....
National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) got its first woman director with Soma Mondal being appointed as the PSU’s director (commercial). Prior to the new assignment, Mondal was serving the company as executive director (marketing) at Nalco’s corporate office, a company release said today. After graduating in Electrical Engineering from REC, Rourkela (now National Institute of Technology), Mondal joined Nalco in 1984 as a Graduate Engineer Trainee. With rich experience in sales and marketing, she has worked in the company’s eastern and western regional offices in various capacities and has been instrumental in devising various strategies for domestic sales, export and launch of new products.
Germany's aluminium industry is optimistic about prospects in 2014 after raising output in 2013, the country's aluminium industry association GDA said on Tuesday. "The improved order situation at the end of 2013 and the stable position at the beginning of 2014 speak in favour of an improvement in the business picture," said GDA chief executive Christian Wellner in a statement. "Carmaking will continue to dominate in the transport sector but growth is still expected in shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing and public transport systems." Aluminium demand from the construction and packaging sectors will also continue to grow, he added. German 2013 output of primary and secondary aluminium rose 4.2 percent on the year to 1.08 million tonnes, the association said. "Business improved in the...
The EUROPEAN ALUMINIUM AWARD “Industrial Design & Engineering” will be presented for 9th time for the innovations in Industrial & Consumer Products segments. There will be a total of six categories. The categories are as follows :- Design & Lifestyle, Building & Architecture, Lighting & Interior, Marine & Offshore, Aerospace & Automotive and Production Techniques, Tools & Machinery. The applications of aluminium in e fields of “Building & Architecture“, “Aerospace & Automotive”, “Marine & Offshore” and “Production Techniques, Tools & Machinery” looks mainly for those aluminium components having positive influence not onlyon final product but also on end-products. In the “Lighting & Interior” and “Design & Lifestyle” categories, mainly the end-products will be judged for their innovative...
United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) - the jointly-owned, UAE-based aluminium conglomerate being formed by Mubadala Development Corporation and Investment Corporation of Dubai - will be the Platinum Sponsor of the 15th Annual Regional Audit Conference, which is taking place on the 16 and 17 March 2014 at the World Trade Centre, Dubai. The sponsorship extends the aluminium industry's support for business excellence and extends its commitments to first-class professional development. The conference is being hosted by the UAE Internal Audit Association (IAA) - a global affiliate of the Institute of Internal Auditors Inc. (IIA), the leading international professional body for auditors. The conference is aiming to attract more than a 1,000 professionals in the field from the...
A deal has been signed between Emirates Aluminium (Emal) and Ducab Aluminium and Emal will supply molten aluminium to the aluminium rod mill of the latter that is under construction. The new aluminium rod mill by Ducab Aluminium will be located in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) at KP3 area and they plan to complete the construction by the end of 2016. With this deal, Emal will supply Ducab molten aluminium for the aluminium rod mill. This new plant aims to reach GCC as well as Mena market and also has plans of expanding to Europe and later to Indian subcontinent. The production capacity of the new plant will be 50,000 tpa and will start with a total investment of Dh220 million ($60 million including cost of plant, infrastructure, machinery and buildings. The plant will also...
Spot aluminium stockpiles crossed1 million tons in China as no signs of recovery were seen in consumption of downstream, a survey by the Shanghai Metals Market said. On a spot basis aluminium stockplies in the 4 major trading regions of China – Nanhai, Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou – rose by 79,000 tons the last week to 1.07 million tons, the survey said. In Shangha spot stocks were 353,000 tons, 296,000 tonnes in Wuxi, a 52,000 tonnes in Hangzhou and 370,000 tonnes in Nanhai, according to the survey.
Alcoa’s had a great run to start off 2014–its stock has gained 15% so far this year–but its shares are looking mighty pricey. That doesn’t have to kill the stock, however. Morgan Stanley’s analysts note that at 34 times 2014 earnings forecasts, Alcoa looks more than a little expensive. Its “historical” one-year forward P/E is 14 times. But they see three reasons that Alcoa’s shares could hold up OK. They explain: 1) 1Q Consensus looks too low. Based on quarter-to-date average FX, alumina and aluminum prices, we think 1Q14 EPS could be around ~$0.10/sh vs. current consensus at $0.04/sh.We have not marked to market our 1Q14 estimate yet. 2) Auto body sheet story has gained traction. We sense that investors are looking for more ways to get exposure to rising use of aluminum in automotives....
The Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) said the management is taking steps to cut down their losses while they have suspended the production of aluminum at the smelter. The managing director of ALSCon, Stanislav Kruglyashov, has given this statement to Business Day on Monday. He said the firm has taken this kind of a decision due to ongoing crisis in the global aluminum industry, further disruption in supply of gas and non-completion of ALSCON’s involvement in the national grid project. The company will want to optimize their payroll further and this includes the layoff of a part of the currently employed staffs. “ALSCON will provide employees being affected with compensation benefits exceeding the level in accordance with the Nigeria law”, Kruglyashov said in the statement....
Qatalum has recorded the “best rectiformer efficiency levels” in the world, the Qatar-based aluminium producer said yesterday. Rectiformers, which convert AC power into DC power, play a vital role in the aluminum smelting process. Qatalum’s rectiformers have recorded zero loss in terms of kilo amps per hour in more than two years, a result achieved at no other smelter in the world. Qatalum Power Group HV and Rectifier specialist Richard Guignard said, “The zero values we have achieved in terms of kilo amp per hour leakage are unprecedented and are the lowest in the world for any smelter. “Qatalum is proud of its tradition of industry leadership and our rectifier performance again sets a benchmark against which all aluminium smelters can be compared. “The outstanding levels of efficiency...
Midwest aluminium premiums dropped again this week as market sources fretted about increased import volumes and the potentially chilling impact of a cold winter on demand. Metal Bulletin sister title AMM's spot P1020 premium slipped to 18.75 to 19 cents per lb on March 5 from 19 to 19.5 cents previously. "The premium ran up fast, and what goes up must come down," one trader said, estimating that premiums could fall another penny before March is over. The trend results in part from high premiums in the USA attracting metal that might ordinarily have gone to Europe or Asia, market sources said. Material was redirected to the US market after Midwest premiums spiked to more than 20 cents per lb earlier this year, with some of that metal arriving in March and April, they said. A combination of...
Rio Tinto Alcan confirmed a planned maintenance outage at its Arvida smelter in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. The Montreal-based aluminium producer will shut the casting center at the smelter for seven to 10 days to perform maintenance work on the facility's furnaces and casting pits, a company spokeswoman told Metal Bulletin sister title AMM via e-mail on March 6. Customers won't be affected because the maintenance had been planned, she said, declining to reveal when the maintenance would begin. The spokeswoman's confirmation came after market sources noted in February that the Arvida smelter, which has an annual capacity of 176,000 tonnes, was scheduled to have a 10-day maintenance outage this month. Rio Tinto Alcan also was reportedly suffering from logistical problems...
LME aluminium is expected to retest support at $1,737 per tonne, a break below which will cause a further loss to a range of $1,702-$1,721. The deep fall from the March 6 high of $1,802 strongly suggests the completion of a preceding uptrend that rose from the Feb. 3 low of $1,671.25. A Fibonacci retracement analysis on the uptrend reveals support at $1,737, the 50 percent level. This support could be responsible for the swift bounce from a low at $1,740 touched on Monday. The bounce may end below resistance at $1,771, the 23.6 percent level, followed by a drop towards the range formed by the 76.4 percent and the 61.8 percent projection levels. The views expressed are his own. No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader...
Nalco’s third quarter numbers for the period 2013-14 were more or less expected except a small fall in production of alumina. The production has fallen on a quarterly basis due to the delay in the export shipment. But there has been a significant rise in alumina production on a year-on-year (y-oy) basis. Nalco has cut down the unviable aluminium production and worked on increasing sales in alumina over the past one year. It is expected that Nalco will follow a similar strategy in the coming quarters. The inability of Nalco to meet the capex target was disappointing news for the market. Now it is expected that Nalco will spend Rs.543 crore in the year 2013-14 compared to their actual estimate of a total of Rs. 1,737 crore, a drop of 69%. They have also pruned down their 2014-15 capex plans...
The UAE Red Crescent collected five tonnes of clothing and food donated by employees of Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) and Emirates Aluminium (Emal) to refugees in Syria. The UAE’s two primary aluminium producers will be integrated into Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the jointly-owned, UAE-based conglomerate to be formed by Mubadala Development Corporation and Investment Corporation of Dubai. The donation was in response to a call by the two flagship companies to help alleviate the impact on families and children struggling with displacement from their homes and harsh winter weather. The appeal reflected the company’s position as a caring corporate citizen. In partnership with the UAE Red Crescent, the call went out for blankets, jackets, towels and non-perishable food items, which could prove...
A U.S. judge overseeing litigation accusing Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co , their warehousing businesses and the London Metal Exchange of conspiring to reduce the supply and increase the price of aluminum will allow for now three groups of plaintiffs to pursue separate lawsuits. In an order dated March 6, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said she will let direct purchaser plaintiffs, commercial end-user plaintiffs and consumer end-user plaintiffs file their own complaints seeking class-action status, while giving defendants the right to object to those filings. She also designated co-lead counsel for the respective plaintiff groups: - For the direct plaintiffs: Grant & Eisenhofer; Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson; and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd; - For the commercial...
