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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China-based Dicastal to open a facility in Greenville
The biggest aluminium wheel manufacturers in the world, the China-based Dicastal North America Inc, has come to an agreement with the city of Greenville to open a facility in the abandoned buildings of United Solar Ovanics (USO) creating around 300 jobs in the area. Over 35 US states had been...
AFCO to build aluminum facility in Olmsted, Illinois
Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois announced the opening of an aluminum manufacturing facility in Olmsted by Louisiana-based AFCO Industries. The plant is expected to create 19 jobs and drive the economy forward. “We are grateful for AFCO’s commitment to Southern Illinois,” Quinn said in a press...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. raised to buy at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. Goldman Sachs currently has $7.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $4.24. Noranda Aluminum...
Shapiro Metals to open new plant
Shapiro Metals, a nonferrous scrap metal recycling firm, has announced plans to open a scrap metal facility in Wichita, Kansas, by the middle of October 2014. The new facility will give the St. Louis-based metals recycling firm 10 locations in the United States. Bruce Shapiro, CEO of Shapiro...
Sapa moving a section of Guelph facility to Mississauga
Sapa has decided to close its Guelph facility in Ontario after they reviewed the aluminium market in Canada. The facility is located at a prime location that facilitated valuable fabrication and horizontal paint capacity, despite that, Sapa plans to close the facility so that they can optimize on...
Ford ties up with Michigan-based Chemetall for their aluminium-bodied F-150
A Michigan-based plant Chemetall has teamed up with Ford to prepare their aluminium-bodied F-150 for the local winter by helping with environmental testing techniques for the surface treatment of the aluminium based bodies. On Monday, 15 September, a special supplier certification was awarded to...
Aluminum Association updates on North American Downstream Market
The Association’s “Index of Net New Orders of Aluminum Mill Products” for August was down 2.4 percent from July. Orders for flat roll products (sheet, plate, can stock and foil) declined 1.9 percent over the previous month, orders for extruded products were down 4.0 percent, while orders for redraw...
Alcoa signs multiyear supply contract with Boeing valued at more than $1 billion
Leading aerospace manufacturer Alcoa has signed a long-term contract to supply aluminum sheet and plate products to Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. The multiyear contract, valued at more than $1...
The aluminium-bodied 2015 F-150 being put to the test
Ford Motor is all set to test the aluminium bodied F-150. The car that is going to be released later this year is currently touring 26 cities for demonstration and introducing the sales personnel to the new pick up trucks. This aluminium truck has created a lot of interest in the auto industry...
Increased car sales in US boost aluminium prices
The cash price of aluminium has risen from $1,725.93 per tonne in January to $2,029.55 per tonne, which is the current price. The overall jump in the LME aluminium prices is recorded at 15% since the beginning of the year. Mintec explains that the price rise is largely due to the falling aluminium...
North American primary aluminum shipments totaled 1,143 thousand metric tons in Q2
Shipments of primary aluminum by North American (U.S. and Canada) producers totaled 1,143 thousand metric tonnes (kmt) in the second quarter of 2014, down 6.4 percent from the second quarter 2013 total of 1,221 kmt. Shipments of primary billet were up seven-tenths of one percent year-over-year...
Elkhart firm's expansion could result in 25 new jobs
An Elkhart firm plans to expand and add 25 new jobs in the next three years. Those intentions came to light Monday, Sept. 8, when representatives of Sapa Extruder Inc., requested a three-year tax abatement from the Elkhart City Council. Sapa Extruder plans to invest $6 million in new construction...
Noranda Aluminum drops 5.47% on September 8
Noranda Aluminum Holding (NOR) was one of the Russell 2000's biggest losers for September 8 as the stock slid 5.47% to $4.32, a loss of $0.25 per share. Starting at an opening price of $4.55 a share, the stock traded between $4.30 and $4.58 over the course of the trading day. Volume was 765,416...
Orbit Aluminae Inc. gives an update on the HPA project in Quebec
On September 3rd, Orbite Aluminae Inc. announced the latest news about the development of the new high purity alumina (‘HPA”) smelter at Cap-Chat in Quebec. Building on the initial announcement already dispatched on August 6th, 2014, they confirmed the completion of the first phase of the project...
API Group PLC announces trading update
API Group plc (LSE: API), the leading manufacturer of specialist foils and packaging materials, is today providing the following update on trading: As indicated in previous statements, the Group's Foils Americas business unit has been impacted by a drop in demand from customers in the metallic...
Aluminum shipments to Oswego to increase
The Port of Oswego has seen record levels of aluminum shipments so far this year and shipments between the port and the St. Lawrence Seaway are expected to increase by 30 percent this year, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce, a bi-national association that represents approximately 150...
Noranda Aluminum announces layoffs, other cutbacks after losing bid for lower power rates
Noranda Aluminum Inc. announced Tuesday that it is laying off up to 200 employees and suspending an expansion project at its southeast Missouri smelter because state regulators refused to lower its electricity rates. The cutbacks by Noranda come less than two weeks after the Missouri Public Service...
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. engineering unit honored with supplier excellence award from General Motors
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. announces that AMG Engineering's ALD Thermal Treatment ("ALD") North America unit has been awarded the 2014 GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award. The Supplier Quality Excellence Award, given to a small percentage of GM's suppliers, recognizes those suppliers...
