
AL Circle Analysis: Import rise meets demand growth on aluminium extrusion chessboard
Aluminium’s downstream trade network is getting more fragmented as import dependence, changing end-use demand and trade-policy interventions reshape regional markets. From North America and Europe to Asia-Pacific, the aluminium industry is navigating a market where access to supply, competitive...
Germany’s aluminium scrap exports rebound 4.58% in H1 2026: Which countries are buying the most?
Germany’s aluminium scrap trade showed signs of recovery in the first half of 2026, with exports to the world reaching 616,000 tonnes, up 4.58 per cent from 589,000 tonnes in H1 2025. The increase was even more pronounced against the second half of 2025, with H1 2026 shipments rising 7.50 per cent...
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Aluminum trader Bermann sells trading firm he founded after Glencore
Veteran aluminum trader Josef Bermann has sold his stake in JB Commodities AG, severing ties with the base metals merchant firm he set up almost ten years ago after leaving Glencore, the company said. Bermann is no longer associated with JB Commodities AG and JB Commodities (Overseas) Ltd, the...

Norsk Hydro maintains aluminum volumes amid push to cut costs
Norsk Hydro ASA, Europe’s third-largest aluminum maker, will maintain production volumes as it closes in on a cost-reduction target and global oversupply of the lightweight metal eases. “We have no plans to cut additional capacity at the moment,” Chief Executive Officer Svein Richard Brandtzaeg...

Fata Aluminum launches two Sand Regeneration Plants
Fata Aluminum recently supplied Montupet with two thermal Sand Regeneration plants. Production was launched with a first plant at the beginning of 2012, at the Laigneville foundry in France, to regenerate the facility's entire sand requirements. The plant, which regenerates sand from the Cold Box...

European spot offers of aluminum alloy push higher on further insolvency rumors
Spot offers of aluminum alloy in Europe have pushed higher this week as rumors of additional insolvencies continued to circulate in the market. Prices for commodity grade standard 226 aluminum alloy have risen by around Eur80-100/mt ($105-131/mt) in Germany, Europe's key market, since news that a...

Norsk Hydro's part-owned Slovalco smelter signs Letter of Intent for power supply
Norsk Hydro's part-owned aluminium smelter in Slovakia, Slovalco, has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for power supply with Slovenské Elektrárne. The LoI covers electricity supply over an eight-year period from January 1, 2014, with a total delivery of 19 terawatt hours (TWh). Since entering into...

Aluminium Closures – Turn 360° the all-round sector focus
The information campaign to promote awareness of aluminium closures, Turn 360° has been extended from wine to take in new content on the wide range of bottled products using this form of closure, including spirits, water and oils. These new contents, underscore yet again the campaign’s proactive...

New Sasol O&S Tri-ethyl aluminium production plant proves concept
Sasol Olefins&Surfactants (O&S) announced today that it has reached an important milestone in the expansion of its capabilities with the production of its new ALCAT®TEAL highly purified tri-ethyl aluminium product. Production at the new TEAL plant in Brunsbüttel, Germany, which went on-line in June...

Innovation from Sapa Building System pushes boundaries of sustainability
The most cost-efficient aluminium Passivhaus window on the market is now available from Sapa Building System, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient aluminium building system solutions. Avantis 95 is a state-of-the-art window system which has been...

European stocks advance on Alcoa results, Greek relief
European stocks rose on Tuesday as investors took their cue from better-than-expected earnings from US aluminium giant Alcoa and after the eurozone released of billions of euros in fresh aid for Greece, dealers said. The optimism stayed high even as the International Monetary Fund slashed its...

Montenegrin prime minister urged to save bankrupt aluminum plant, KAP
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic on Tuesday blamed parliament for stalling the rescue of the bankrupt Podgorica Aluminum Plant, KAP. Djukanovic said owing to the lack of cooperation between parliament, the state run Power Industry and the factory, the government had been forced to halt...

Tight margins cause mounting casualties in secondary aluminium
The gloss has come off the secondary aluminium markets in the UK and Europe this year, and we are now beginning to see the cracks that have been forecast since producers started struggling for an adequate margin last year. During its daily conversations with market participants, Metal Bulletin has...

Alufoil Trophy 2014: A chance to “shine’’ in aluminium foil
The launch of the Alufoil Trophy 2014, organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), offers companies the chance to enter and place the spotlight on their latest innovations and technologies using alufoil and alu closures, in the most prestigious competition of its kind. In addition,...

Alcoa to close fusina smelter in Italy
Alcoa announced today that it intends to permanently close its Fusina (Venice, Italy) primary aluminum smelter, which has been curtailed since June 2010. The planned closure will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity of 4.2 million metric tons per year by 44,000 metric tons. The intended closure...

Contest for lighter-weight metals helps auto makers
Car makers turning to aluminum, at the expense of steel, to make lighter vehicles have steelmakers fighting back with major new investments to preserve market share in one of their most valuable markets. The metals-contest comes as auto makers look to build lighter cars, which tend to be more fuel...

Novelis announces across-the-board price increase for automotive aluminium sheet products in Europe
Novelis today announced a price increase of 160 Euro per ton for all of its automotive aluminium sheet products in Europe. The price change is effective immediately for all new orders not covered by current supply agreements. “The price increase announced today reflects the strong demand for our...

European aluminum alloy spot demand slow, prices inch higher
Spot demand for secondary aluminum in Europe was seasonably low this week as inquiries slowed ahead of the summer vacations and manufacturing turnarounds. Prices in Europe have firmed slightly, consolidating the move higher after a major German alloy producer, Oetinger, filed for insolvency June...

TRIMET interested to buy aluminum smelter & casting facility in France
German aluminum producer TRIMET is interested to purchase St. Jean-de-Maurienne aluminum smelter and Castelsarrasin casting facility in France, which are both owned by Rio Tinto Alcan. This was confirmed by Jacynthe Côté, CEO of Rio Tinto Alcan, who said they received a binding offer from TRIMET....

Contest for Lighter-Weight Metals Helps Auto Makers
Car makers turning to aluminum, at the expense of steel, to make lighter vehicles have steelmakers fighting back with major new investments to preserve market share in one of their most valuable markets. The metals-contest comes as auto makers look to build lighter cars, which tend to be more fuel...
