Europe’s recycled aluminium industry is an important component of the global secondary aluminium supply chain, with Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom (UK) representing key national markets. Production across the European region stood at nearly 6 million tonnes in 2023, supported by established scrap recovery systems, industrial recycling capacity and demand for recycled metal. Russia also contributes to the regional landscape through secondary aluminium production units concentrated in several industrial centres. According to AL Circle’s analysis in its report, “ World Recycled ALuminium Market Analysis Industry Forecast ”, the four countries present different market structures, from Germany’s substantial recycling capacity and Italy’s scrap-based production to the UK’s organised...
According to SMM survey statistics, the operating rate of the secondary aluminium alloy industry in September was 35.0 per cent, up 3.1 percentage points M-o-M but down 6.7 percentage points Y-o-Y. Industry production continued its recovery trend, but the overall operating level remained below the same period last year. On the demand side, September marked the traditional peak consumption season, with downstream orders recovering from August. End-use demand from automobiles and other sectors improved marginally, but the peak season effect has yet to fully materialise. According to CAAM data, automobile production in September was 2.99 million units, up 11.4 per cent M-o-M but down 8.7 per cent Y-o-Y. NEV production was 1.814 million units, up 12.2 per cent Y-o-Y. CAAM noted that China's...
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Harsco Corporation has acquired ALTEK Group, a manufacturer and installer of aluminium dross and scrap processing systems, for a purchase price of £45 million (approximately $60 million), plus an additional future consideration, to be paid subject to the future financial performance. Alan Peel, ALTEK Managing Director, said: “With Harsco’s extensive international presence and company infrastructure, Harsco will greatly enhance the ability of ALTEK to provide service and support to its international customer base. This will be particularly helpful as we commercialize our latest technology AluSalt around the world. With very similar and aligned values between the two companies, all of this will provide for a very exciting future for ALTEK with Harsco and the customers we serve within the...
As reported by Reuters, China’s April scrap aluminium imports fell by 27.8% from March to 130,000 tonnes, after the country imposed 25% import tariff on aluminium scrap from the United States, its biggest scrap supplier, effective Apr. 2. Data from the General Administrations of Customs showed April scrap aluminium imports also fell 23.1% year on year. For the period of Jan-April 2018, scrap aluminium imports were down 11.4% to 620,000 tonnes in comparison to the same period of 2017. We can see in the below graph from Shanghai Metals Market that the prices of imported mixed aluminium scrap in China dropped to US$ 1500 per tonne on April 16 from US$ 1600 per tonne on April 13 2018. The prices continue to remain flat since, due to lower level of import. The country is now depending on...
Japan’s leading manufacturer of chemical products and industrial materials, Showa Denko and its group companies and their cooperative companies continued to perform aluminium can recycling activity in fiscal 2017, ended on 31 st of March, 2018, by collecting approximately 4.81 million cans, which are equivalent to about 76 tonnes of aluminium when converted at the rate of 15.7 grams of aluminium per can. Showa Aluminium Can Corporation, a consolidated subsidiary of SDK had begun the can recycling activity in 1972, which later on, spread across the Showa Denko Group in 2001 and continuing until today. Employees of the group companies and cooperative companies collect the cans for recycling from households and workplaces, and then report the total number of cans collected. In fiscal 2017, a...
South Korea, one of the leading aluminium scrap importers in the world, imports aluminium scrap and recycles them for making aluminium alloys. The country’s automotive sector is a major consumer of aluminium products. South Korea imported about 736338 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the global market in 2017. South Korea has been importing a major chunk of aluminium scrap from the USA and Japan. The country imported about 175557 tonnes and 89151 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the USA and Japan in 2017. Aluminium scrap export from Japan to South Korea declined in March last year. The export was reduced as South Korean prosecutors had started an investigation on the aluminium procurement practices of Hyundai Motor Group and aluminium alloy suppliers. In 2018, South Korea’s aluminium scrap...
After the Council of Ministers has voted for the amended Waste Directives of the Package, European Aluminium has said that Europe now has the proper framework to make the Circular Economy work in the true sense. The 28 EU Member States would now start delivering on reducing landfill of household waste to maximum 10% by 2035, promoting the use of reusable and recyclable materials. European Aluminium believes that aluminium is already contributing positively towards the European circular economy with impressive aluminium recycling rates of over 90% in transport and building and over 60% in packaging sector. But the association feels the Member States need to improve on the existing packaging, collection and sorting infrastructure in order to meet the new ambitious recycling targets....
With the growing focus on using sustainable resources and cutting down carbon footprints, recycling of resources have become imperative to the global manufacturing sector. Aluminium being one of the most energy intensive industries, demands more focused R&D on the recycling sector. AlCircle continues to deliver reports on industry specific topics based on its research and analysis and day to day rendezvous with news from the global aluminium industry. The Virtual Aluminium Ecosystem has added a new Sector Focus Report – “World Recycled Aluminium Market Analysis - Industry Forecast to 2022” to its 2018 portfolio. The report promises to provide a deep insight into the world aluminium recycling market that is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Nearly 75 per cent of all...
According to Shanghai Metal Market, secondary aluminium exports prices in China are likely to surge further in a short period of time as a resultant of month-long operation suspension of China Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC) at North America in May, which would significantly lower the aluminium scrap imports from the US and shrink secondary aluminium exports as a consequence. Since May 4, the authority has imposed broad-based inspections on all scrap materials imported from the US and put CCIC’s operations at North America under A-level risk alert for one month, thereby, affecting China’s ability to import adequate scrap from the US. About 50,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap imports have been anticipated to be affected by this move in May learned Shanghai Metal Market. In this...
Indonesia imported US$156.9 billion worth of goods from around the globe in 2017, an increase of 15.7 per cent year on year. Aluminium scrap import by Indonesia also increased over the last three years. The country is estimated to increase its aluminium scrap import this year. Indonesia’s import of alumina increased in both volume and value in 2017 when compared to 2016 data. The USA exported the largest chunk of aluminium scrap to Indonesia. In 2017, the USA exported 27518 tonnes of aluminium scrap to the country (estimated). United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, were the other suppliers of aluminium scrap to the country. According to the international trade data, Indonesia imported 74450 tonnes of aluminium scrap in 2017, an 11 per cent up from its 2016 imports totalling 66997...
According to latest figures from the US Census Bureau and US International Trade Commission, aluminium scrap exports by the U.S. rose in the first three months of this year. Total exports by the U.S. stood at 386, 910 tonnes in Q1 2018, up 9 per cent from the same period previous year. U.S. exports of aluminium scrap to China reduced in the first quarter. China imported 177, 553 tonnes of aluminium scraps, a decrease of 7.2 per cent from the same period previous year. India’s imports of aluminium scrap increased 146.8 per cent to 27, 516 tonnes in Q1 2018. Malaysia imported 20, 179 tonnes of aluminium scraps, up 370 per cent. South Korea and Mexico purchased 49, 723 tonnes (+13.6 per cent) and 39, 292 tonnes (+20.4 per cent) of aluminium scrap respectively in the first quarter of 2018.
China’s domestic aluminium scrap prices are likely to stay high with a small upward room in the short term as supplies with invoices would be further tightened after the authority imposed broad-based inspections on all scrap materials imported from the US from May 4, SMM believes. China’s customs also put China Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC)’s operations at North America under A-level risk alert for one month from May 4. This means that China would not be able to import scrap from the US due to a lack of CCIC certificate for one month. This move would see secondary aluminium producers that mainly rely on aluminium scrap imports suffer the most. Many secondary aluminium producers increased their export sales earlier this year as China decided to levy a 25% tariff on aluminium...
According to aluminium recycling statistics published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Interior, the U.S. aluminium industry purchased an estimated 703 million pounds of aluminium scrap during February 2018, down 3.1 per cent from the February 2017 total. USGS estimates that recovery of aluminium and aluminium alloys totalled 291,000 tonnes in February 2018, a decrease of 3.0 per cent year-over-year. The amount is slightly less than the revised amount in January 2018. Of this, 166,000 t of aluminum was recovered from new scrap and 125,000 t was recovered from old scrap. Through the first two months of 2018, preliminary data indicate that recovery of aluminium from scrap totalled an estimated 585,134 tonnes, off 2.2 percent over year-to-date 2017. U.S. exports of scrap, not...
Aluminum imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totalled 362 thousand tonnes in February 2018, up 5 per cent over the February 2017 total of 344 thousand tonnes. U.S. exports of scrap, which is not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totalled 1.6 million tonnes in 2017, up 18.3 per cent over 2016. For the first two months of 2018, the total aluminium scrap export by the U.S. is estimated to stand at about 240 thousand tonnes, up 9.2 % from the same period of 2016. Total exports by the U.S. in January-February stood at 490 thousand tonnes, up 14.5 per cent over a year ago. Scraps account for roughly 50 per cent of reported aluminium exports by the U.S. Excluding scrap; exports totalled 463 thousand tonnes. Exports...
The ISRI 2018 Convention, held in Las Vegas in mid-April and hosted by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), was attended by more than 5,100 people, mostly from North America, and the event hosted scrap buyers and sellers from around the world, despite global trade disputes. The event was also attended by many market analysts and experts. Participants agreed that the recent developments in the international trade sector, from the introduction of Section 232 tariffs on finished aluminium imports into the United States from countries excluding Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil and European Union to China’s tariffs on aluminium scrap imports from the U.S., have created ripples in the aluminium sector. “I’ve never seen the kind of...
As per recent export-import data released by General Customs Administration of China, total aluminium scrap imports by the country dropped by 5.59 per cent YoY reaching 176,814 tonnes in March 2018. In January-March period, China’s import of aluminium scrap fell 7.58 per cent year-on year to 486,512 tonnes. Source: www.metal.com (Unit: tonnes) China’s import of aluminium scrap is expected to decline further because of the newly-imposed tariff on aluminium. The secondary aluminium industry is being hit hard by tight raw material supply and sluggish demand after the US-China trade war. The country has recently stopped sourcing aluminium scrap from the US for its domestic consumption. The US remained the top aluminium scrap exporter to China followed by Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, the...
France is one of the top aluminium scrap exporting countries in the world. The country’s aluminium consumption is driven by packaging, building and the automotive sector. These sectors generate substantial amount of scrap every year. France exports about 400,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap. Italy and Spain consumes the largest chunk of aluminium scrap export by France. Spain alone imported 114584 tonnes of aluminium scrap from France in 2017 (estimated). France exported around 112028 tonnes and 81280 tonnes of aluminium scrap to Italy and Belgium respectively. As per global export-import data, France is estimated to export 250073 tonnes of aluminium scrap in the half of 2018, up from 245357 tonnes of aluminium scrap in the same period previous year. The total export volume is expected to...
According to Shanghai Metal Market report on April 23, 2018, the secondary aluminium industry is being hit hard by tight raw material supply and sluggish demand following the US-China trade war started in March 2018. Aluminium scrap prices have been staying high since then, due to the lack of specialised invoice in the Chinese domestic market and country’s restrictions on imports. Invoice tax point has also increased to 12 per cent due to this, up 2.5 to 3 per cent compared to the same period last year. The maximum impurity content of imported materials which was lowered from 2 per cent to 1 percent on March 1 has driven the price surge of aluminium scrap, in addition. The supply is also tight as secondary aluminium producers in China have stopped sourcing aluminium scrap from the US...
Metalcorp Group B.V., one of the leading manufacturers of secondary aluminium ingots in Europe, has planned to make investments in a second continuous casting line and a homogenisation plant at BAGR Berliner Aluminiumwerk GmbH. BAGR Berliner Aluminiumwerk GmbH specializes in producing rolling slabs from secondary aluminium for the European market. The company operates as a subsidiary of Metalcorp Group. Furthermore, the Group has initiated negotiations with its co-shareholder regarding the latter's 50 per cent stake in Stockach Aluminium GmbH with a view to fully taking over the company. The planned takeover will further enlarge and improve the range of products and services offered by BAGR and Stockach Aluminium to their customer. Last year, BAGR Berliner Aluminiumwerk GmbH acquired 50...
Japan, a major exporter of aluminium scrap and automotive grade aluminium alloy scrap to the entire of South East Asia, exports considerable amount of aluminium scrap every year. Aluminium scrap export from Japan to South Korea increased in 2017. Aluminium scrap export from Japan to South Korea stood at 89151 tonnes last year, up from 84740 tonnes in 2016. The country is estimated to raise its aluminium scrap export to South Korea in 2018. Japan is likely to export 96873 tonnes of aluminium scrap this year. According to recent estimates, Japan shipped 132085 tonnes of aluminium scrap globally in 2016. In 2017, the total exports volume stood at 132036 tonnes. This year, by December end, the country’s aluminium scrap export volume is estimated to increase to 142103. Japan’s aluminium scrap...
