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...
US industrial policy needs to be systematic, not just ad hoc – Part 2
Our current approach can win economic skirmishes, but not the geopolitical conflict. – Part 2 Impact #5 of ad hoc industrial policy: Failing to use all required tools Industrial policy is often caricatured as just tariffs and subsidies. Mis-framed debates that evaluate the merits of tariffs in...
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US shredded scrap prices reach $169; aluminium scrap prices stay stable
United States shredded scrap prices gained during the week ended December 11, while major US aluminium scrap commodities weekly average prices on Scrap Register Price Index also showed a steady trend. According to TSI, US Midwest shredded index increased $3 long ton the week to $169 long ton...
Century Aluminum finds a saviour in CEO Michael Bless before inevitable closure
Century Aluminum’s Mount Holly smelter was due to shut down, probably for good; but just a couple days before the inevitable closure, president and CEO Michael Bless stepped in to try one last time to save several jobs from being lost. The aluminium smelter and its workers saw Bless working till...
Ford pumps $1.3 billion more into aluminium pickups
Ford is betting big on its new aluminium-bodied F-150, which has been taking traditional business away from the steel industry. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker announced it was going to invest $1.3 billion in Kentucky to make the F-Series Super Duty. Ford will invest in an all-new body shop,...
Kaiser Aluminum allocates $150M for equipment upgrades
Kaiser Aluminum Corp announced that it will spend US $150 million on capital improvements at its Spokane, Washington facility over next five years. The investment, according to Kaiser Aluminum, will help to reduce cost, increase opreational efficiency and expand production capacity. Kaiser Aluminum...
North America’s can stock (class) scrap receipts fell in November
According to the monthly report from Aluminum Association, can stock (class) scrap receipts fell y-o-y in the month of November in US and Canada. New can stock (class) scrap receipts totaled 53.1 million pounds during November 2015, off 7.3 percent from the November 2014 total of 57.2 million...
Aluminum Association updates on North America’s downstream market
According to an Aluminum Association report estimated net shipments of Aluminum Sheet and Plate by U.S. and Canadian producers totaled 649.4 million pounds during November 2015, up seven-tenths of one percent over the November 2014 total of 645.0 million pounds. Compared to the previous month,...
Century reaches power agreement for Mt. Holly smelter
Century Aluminum of South Carolina, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Century Aluminum Company, announced on Saturday, last week, that it has reached an agreement in principle with Santee Cooper that will allow the Goose Creek, SC plant to operate at half capacity while the state legislature...
Novelis partners with Cayuga Community College to develop a robust talent pool
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced a long-term commitment to the Cayuga Community College’s Fulton campus to launch an Advanced Manufacturing Institute, including an industrial maintenance technician program and an advanced laboratory and training center....
Alcoa announces multiyear supply contracts with Boeing
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa announced long-term supply contracts with Boeing valued at over $2.5 billion. Alcoa will supply multi-material fastening systems for every Boeing platform in its largest fastener deal ever. Alcoa also will supply ready-to-install titanium seat track assemblies for...
Century abandons plan to cut output at Kentucky aluminium smelter
Century Aluminum Co has abandoned plans to slash output at its Sebree, Ky., smelter due in part to a modest rebound in prices, a spokesman said on Thursday, the latest aluminium maker to backtrack on steps to cope with weak market conditions. The move comes as the company, whose largest shareholder...
Century Aluminum to operate Mt. Holly smelter at 50% capacity
Chicago-based Century Aluminum has announced its decision to operate the Mt. Holly, South Carolina smelter at 50% capacity. The company had earlier threatened to close the smelter on disputes with state-owned power supplier Santee Cooper over power rates at the smelter. Meantime, the company has...
Kaiser Aluminum announces capital investment project at its Trentwood facility
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation announced that it has commenced a five-year, $150 million capital investment project at its Spokane, Washington facility to further advance the Company’s cost and quality leadership position and to meet continued demand growth. The investments will focus on equipment...
North American aluminium scrap prices declined on Index
The North American aluminium scrap prices declined on ScrapMonster Price Index as on December 15th, Tuesday. 1100 Scrap and 3003 Scrap prices were down by $0.02 per Lb each on Index. A down move of $0.02 per Lb was witnessed in 356 Aluminium Wheels and 6061 Extrusions. 5052 Scrap prices too dropped...
Flooding Chinese aluminium semis angers overseas rivals
Massive outflows of Chinese aluminium semis, as a way out against saturated domestic market, have aroused growing anger and barriers from overseas. President and CEO of the Aluminum Association of US (AA) and the Aluminum Association of Canada (AAC) recently wrote a joint letter to US Secretary of...
Aluminum Association recognizes industry’s safest year ever
2014 was the safest year on record for the U.S. aluminum industry, according to recently released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report - the BLS Workplace Injury and Illness Summary – showed that the number of recordable workplace safety incidents in the aluminum industry fell...
Novelis supplies aluminium solutions for all-new Ford F-series super duty truck
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced it is supplying high-strength, military-grade, aluminum for the upcoming Ford F-Series Super Duty lineup of trucks, the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever. Following the launch of the 2015 Ford F-150, the...
Berkeley County lawmakers meet with Santee Cooper CEO over aluminum plant jobs
Berkeley County lawmakers are scheduled to meet Monday afternoon with Santee Cooper’s chief executive officer over the fate of the Century Aluminum plant in Mount Holly. The informational meeting between the legislative delegation and CEO Lonnie Carter starts at 5 p.m. at the state-owned utility...
Century Aluminum begins shutting down plant with 600 workers
Century Aluminum began closing its Goose Creek plant Monday, a move expected to put 600 people out of work eventually. The company started to shut down one of the two lines that make aluminum at the plant, Century spokeswoman Samantha Dubay said. The first layoffs will come next week, with about...
